Jacob Jackson and the Colors of War
by Project Phoenix Agent 003
Summary: Jacob Jackson has been leading a war for two years against the ancient god Urunos. Nations fallen, landmarks destoryed, friends turned to enemies. Now, as the enemy closes his vice grip around Manhattan and battle weary Allies fight for survival, the final pieces of the prophecy fall into place. The tide must turn now, or everyone and everything is doomed.
1. Preview

_**If you thought this was the sequel, I'm sorry. Just the preview for now. The sequel will officially start sometime after I finish Shame of Olympus and Demigod Files 2.0. But for now, here's a little sneak peak.**_

_The unborn child of the half-blood heroes…_

Jacob ran through his opponent with his sword, giving a battle cry as he did. The red aura faded from the victim just long enough for them to whisper "Thank you." And then they collapsed, dead. Jacob turned to the rest of the battlefield as mortal forces defended the line with their lives. Guns blazed, but it was too much. If help didn't arrive soon, they were all dead.

More Embers were closing in. Jacob slashed and hacked, cutting through their fragile bodies with ease. Even when one let loose a burst of power and sent Jacob flying through the air, he remained in control of his actions and slashed into their ranks as he flew over them. When he landed, he charged back into the horde and kept fighting.

"Jacob, stand by reinforcements are enroute. ETA ten minutes," came the voice of Annabeth Jackson over Jacob's small radio headset.

"With all due respect Mom," he spoke back, "we won't last five."

_Whose peers of power shall number zero…_

"Pull everyone back," Jacob said to the others as his tattoo of a trident glowed almost blindingly bright, its light shimmering underwater. "I'll deal with Neroh."

Jacob swam out, ignoring the cries of Poseidon's army as they were overwhelmed and overpowered. Even his eyes began to glow brilliantly blue. Neroh laughed and tore apart the palace with wicked glee until he saw Jacob coming.

"Come for more?" he laughed, glowing eerie red.

"No," was Jacob's curt response as the tides assaulted Neroh with unrelenting force. He tried in vain to counter, but he simply could not break Jacob's control over the water. Huge chunks of coral reef broke up and flew toward Neroh, striking with the force of a car accident on the highway.

_Shall unite with a hero much like him…_

"You're going the wrong way!" Alex shouted as she reloaded and fired her bow. Another pegasus was hit, and went down.

"I know where I'm going!" Jacob shouted back, jerking the wheel to one side to avoid a crater in the earth. Alex's aim was thrown off by the maneuver, and her next shot missed by a mile. She cursed an reloaded.

"You do not!" Alex insisted. "And your driving is terrible!"

"Well my archery is worse so shut up and keep shooting!" a stressed out Jacob yelled as he drove.

The car roared and screeched as it drove through the battered streets of Manhattan. The Empire State building was still a ways off, under siege by the forces of Urunos.

_To save all demigods from a future grim…_

Jacob back flipped to avoid the latest flaming arrow, still not drawing his weapon despite the obvious need to. Rae advanced forward, her eyes and body giving off the eerie grayish red glow that accompanied all of the Enslaved.

"Rae don't do this," Jacob asked of her. She just fired another arrow. He dodged, and it exploded on impact with a tree, tearing it to splinters

"This isn't you," Jacob insisted. She drew a hunting knife and slashed, which he caught. "You have to fight it!"

_The resurrection shall cause his birth…_

Annabeth relaxed as the baby boy's first cries of life resonated. Thalia gently handed him to her, and she smiled weakly. It was amazing to think, not long ago Percy and Annabeth had been dead, and now here they both were, not only alive, but staring in pure adoration at their baby boy.

Jacob L. Jackson.

_His only love will reignite the hearth…_

Alex rushed into the cold throne room, using wind to cast the bodies of enemies out of the way. The hearth, it was well and truly out. Olympus was crumbling around them. There was still time though, there was still hope.

But as Alex brought the hearth back onto its feet, an invisible force shoved her backward across the floor. A glowing, smiling Rae strutted into the throne room, hunting knives ready. Alex wiped the blood off her lip and jumped to her feet.

_From the Lord of Time to the Son of the Sea…_

Kronos blocked the sword strike with his scythe and tried to counter, but Urunos was too fast. Within seconds, Kronos was overwhelmed and forced back. He tried to slow down time, give himself some breathing room. But Urunos, too powerful now, tore through the attempt with ease and ran his son through with the Primordial Lead blade.

Kronos gasped and fell to his knees, staring stunned and the blade embedded in his chest. Kronos would die, he was immortal. But he wasn't going to be doing anything for a long time.

Percy Jackson vaulted up and tried to bring Riptide down onto Urunos, but the god of the heavens dismissively waved his hand and the elder Jackson went flying backward. To Urunos, their attempts to stop the inevitable were pathetic.

_All shall fail to end the murder spree…_

Urunos stood proudly, ready to channel every last ounce of his power into this one, last act. But before he could, a fireball struck the back of his head. Urunos spun, facing none other than Jacob Jackson, who was glowing alternately red and blue.

"I'm not finished with you," he said.

"But I am with you," Urunos countered, and causally threw a conjured knife. It melted back into a liquid lead, and pooled at Jacob's feet. The teen had a steely gaze in his glowing eyes.

"I said, we're not finished," Jacob repeated, readying his sword.

"Very well," Urunos agreed, almost sighing. "Let's end this quickly. I have a universe to destroy."

_**And that is it! The preview is officially out. NOTE: Any and all portions of this preview may be subject to partial change and/or removal from final edition of story in question.**_


	2. The Most Miserable Place on Earth

_**And it begins…anew.**_

"_My numbers will darken the skies over every nation," —Urunos._

I never went to Disneyland as a kid. It was just one of those things I didn't get to experience. Mom and Dad never took me when I was little, probably for public safety reasons. And once I got moved to camp Half-Blood my chances of ever seeing Mickey Mouse in person went down the toilet along with my old life.

Once upon a time, Disneyland was deemed the happiest place on Earth by the general public (Whoever _they _are.). How people found happiness in oversized cartoon costumes, midget mannequins singing the number one song on Hades' "Fields of Punishment" iPod playlist, hot muggy weather, crowded streets, and the stupidest hats I'd ever seen, I'll never know. Frankly, I don't want to.

But, charming cynicism aside, I guess I have to admit at some point this place must have been a happy, safe place with children laughing and smiling families and everything else you expected in a picturesque place of joy and good fun.

Listen to me. I sound like my dad used to when the weather got all sunny. I can't help it sometimes. It really is hard to be happy after living a day in the world I live in, after fighting against what I fight.

Happiest place on Earth. If that's still true, the world is deeper in River Styx than I thought.

Because today, Disneyland was the personal Hades of five thousand men and women, myself included, and it wasn't because of the wait time and high food prices.

After nearly a week of calm, the Embers finally got a fix on me and my ever shrinking band of soldiers and survivors, and now they were raining down to obliterate the land and possess everyone they didn't kill first. As I sliced my sword through one and turn it into a cloud of ash, I decided for the billionth time I hate this war with a passion greater than Zeus ever had for Hera. Although, that's not saying much is it?

Rifles barked to life and a hail of bullets backed up my swings, a meat grinder that took a swarm of Embers and left nothing but ash and sparks. But for every one that you killed, there were always ten more flying down to join the fight.

One particularly angry looking one charged at us on all fours, fire dancing on its hands and feet. It pounced forward like a lion, too far away for me to swipe and too fast for any of the soldiers to shoot. Before any of us could react, one of the men went down as the Ember hit its mark.

Immediately I was there, hacking that monster back to nothing to make sure it didn't get anyone else. Even as I did, another one flew by and tackled a soldier to the ground. Screams reached our ears as the Ember chose to pass on the curse of Urunos rather than simply kill. A hail of bullets responded, killing the Ember…and the man it had gotten a hold of. It was a mercy killing.

I gave a battle cry to keep up my adrenaline and slashed, killing yet another Ember. What few remaining soldiers I had open fired what was probably their last salvo of ammunition, but were met with bad results.

Embers were wild, power possessed mortals whose bodies were being burned alive by the sheer might of Urunos's possession. They technically had all of his powers, but rarely used them out of sheer lack of mental capacity.

Oh, but when they did.

The bullets fired by my troops were deflected right back at them by an invisible shield, and everyone including me either got hit or killed by them. I ignored the horrible sting in my side and the final cries of fighting men and women and pointed my sword to fire a bolt of lightning at the fast approaching horde.

Unfortunately, "my sword" was not _my_ sword. I'd lost the one given to me by my parents when it was destroyed by Urunos. Since then I'd been making due with whatever weapon I could find. Spears, arrows, staffs, even guns on rare occasions. Today, I was stuck with a Celestial bronze sword I'd taken from…

But anyway, Celestial bronze didn't seem to like my powers all that much. More often than not when I tried to fire lightning through it backfired. Today was no different. What should have wiped out a swath of Embers instead sent a quick numbing jolt through my own arm.

"Styx!" I cursed, and only barely reacted in time to punch an Ember that had gotten to close.

I recovered as best I could from my screw-up and resumed slashing and hacking away at the enemy. But Hades, there were about twenty of them for every one of us. And that was just what was in sight.

More cries of overrun soldiers reached my ears. I watched several of them die. And my radio earpiece didn't make things any better. It just let me know that everyone else I couldn't see was dying too.

"Go!" I yelled to the soldiers and refugees that were still left. "Just leave, I'll hold them off!"

Those had been the last words of so many soldiers. I almost wished I could have rephrased that so it didn't seem like this was the end. But that would be kidding myself, and them.

"We're not leaving you behind Captain!" one of them yelled.

"I said go!" I repeated. Another group of Embers down. Another mass of my people screaming in agony. "Fall back and get these refugees out of here!"

"But—" one of them protested.

"That's an order!" I yelled, turning around to look back at the people who I'd led into this mess. My tone became a lot less harsh as I added. "I'll buy you as much time as I can."

They all looked on at me, too scared or afraid to say anything. I uttered one last word to get the message across. "Run."

They finally gave in. The refugees made a beeline for where the escape craft were kept. Boats, trucks, jeeps, helicopters. Anything that could get people away from here, we used. Following closely behind them were my troops, firing as they went to keep back whatever Embers chose them over me, using the very last of what they had to buy time for the refugees.

Most of them probably would die trying to make it to the vehicles, and then only half of the vehicles would make it to safety. The rest… they wouldn't have to worry about the war anymore.

The war. Two, long, painful years of the world's Allied Forces fighting against the ancient god Urunos and his ever growing army of Ember slaves.

And the world had been getting its collective ass kicked.

So many nations were so quick to fall. What remained of Allied Forces were scattered in patches across the globe, fighting a hopeless fight against Urunos's army, the horde that corrupted the innocent and left ash and rubble in its wake.

I was supposed to be in Mexico City right now, overseeing evacuation and refitting my battle-weary troops. The gods-awful little devils had hounded us all the way from _Mexico._

The war was pushing everything inward. Every pocket of Allied resistance was either wiped out or forced to retreat closer to home. Closer to Manhattan, Camp Half-Blood, and Olympus.

Great Britain had fallen in thirteen months. We'd only just gotten there in time to watch London burn. France and Germany fell even sooner. China was just a sliver of what it had once been. Russia was nothing but scattered pockets of life. The pattern went on and on all over the globe.

A fireball I didn't see coming hit my hand, and I dropped my sword in pain. Another surge of fire came my way, and I barely managed to use a quick gust of wind to deflect it. Even so, I'm pretty sure my eyebrows were way thinner now.

Throbbing, stinging pain in my hand and the horrible ache from my bullet wound distracted me too much, and even as I deflected another fireball from one direction, I was tackled to the ground from another.

The Ember and I grappled briefly before I managed to send a shock through the thing and turn it back to ashes and sparks. My heart was racing, because if there was one thing I knew, it was that when Embers got someone on the ground, that person never got up.

Sure enough, another Ember jumped onto me. And another, and another, until all I could see was black and red, and all I could feel was heat and claws. All I could hear was the growls and snarls. And then suddenly, the writhing bodies piled on me turned into a cloud of smoke and embers.

Smoke from the pile of dead Embers stung my eyes and choked my lungs, but at least I wasn't being dog piled by the possessed remains of mortals. A hand reached through the smoke and grabbed my own burned one, sending a shock of pain through my hand. I screamed and tried to pull away, but whatever had grabbed me had an iron grip.

I was hauled to my feet, and as the smoke cleared from my eyes I found myself face-to-face with a young, grime covered face of a soldier I recognized from one of my best squads; Private Nick Bennett.

"You okay Captain?" he asked with a smile.

"I ordered a retreat," I grumbled, yanking my hand free from his grasp. What the Hades was he still doing here?

"I'll take that as a yes," he joked dryly. "You're welcome by the way."

I should have been furious with this guy. I'd specifically ordered everyone to leave, and here he was, doing the _opposite_. Instead, I was almost glad for the rescue. Must be the blood loss.

"God damn it Bennett, get back here! This is the last bird out of here and I got Embers all over the place," a pilot chided over the radio.

"Keep your rotors running, I've got the Captain. We're heading back now," the young soldier replied over the chaos.

"The Captain's alive?" the pilot asked. "Should've said that first Bennett."

I didn't like where this conversation was going, so I pressed my fingers to my radio earpiece, ignoring the jab of pain in my burnt fingers. There was no way we were losing another craft just for an attempt to save me. "Pilot, you give us five minutes to get there and then take off, whether we're there or not. Do you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am!"

I glared at the young soldier. "You shouldn't have come back for me," I scolded him.

"You can court martial me," he shot back as he reloaded his gun. "_After _we get out of here."

He pulled a knife from his belt and handed it to me. "Sorry, all I've got on me."

I clutched it in my one good hand and nodded. He looked me over from top to bottom, probably noticing the bleeding, the burns, the cuts, and the dirt. I doubt I looked in fighting shape, and the look on his face solidified it.

"Just stay close," he advised.

Embers were starting to close in, and we ran. And wounded or not, it was the fastest I'd ever run before in my life. We were a decent way out from the escape craft, and as the seconds ticked by and the Embers pounced after us, I begin to wonder if maybe I should have told the pilot to give us just a little more time. Five minutes was going to leave us stranded.

One Ember made a particularly good lunge at us. Not breaking momentum, I spun around with knife drawn and scored a stab clean through the temple, turning the thing into cloud of ash, and then continued the spin until I was again going full sprint toward our only way out.

Bennett fired a quick burst from his gun as we ran, and then cursed. Empty, most likely. We rounded a corner, jumped a few fences, and made a beeline for the main exit. If our escape was still here, it would be waiting in the parking lot. If it wasn't…

Next to me, Bennett screamed and went down. Immediately I skidded to a halt, whirled around, and dove at the Ember on his back. I took it down easily enough, and he slammed the butt of his gun into one that was pouncing at me. And then, just as we were both back on our feet, they were everywhere.

With nothing but our wits, a knife, and an empty rifle, we fought for precious moments of life. Bennett bashed aside an Ember, punched another one in the face, stomped his foot onto one that had been knocked onto the floor. I slashed, stabbed, dodged, did everything I could. But I knew too many when I saw it. And there were too many. If we turned and ran, we'd be pounced on from behind.

I didn't know how much time was left until the helicopter was left. I knew it wasn't enough to fend off this wave and then make it. In two years of war, I'd seen plenty of people in this situation. _Left _a lot of people in this situation. They all entered that same mindset: I'm going to kill as many of these bastards as I can before they take me out. Bennett and I now both entered this mindset. We were going to die, but damn the gods if we don't make the Embers waste as many of them on us as possible.

Stab, duck, punch, kill, repeat. I was wounded, sleepless, hungry, and my bladder was full. But I had a demigod adrenaline rush and I was using it to its fullest extent. Bennett was fighting better than any mortal I'd ever seen too.

Then, an Ember got in close enough to get a grip. The Fates hate me. That is the only explanation as to how, out of every place that thing could have grabbed me, its sharp, charred hands dug right into my bullet wound. An angry mouth lunged for my throat, and I had to block the bite with my burned hand. Hot teeth dug into already sensitive flesh, a hand tightened its grip and dug into a bullet wound, and I screamed in pain. My knees gave out, and I hit the ground as my adrenaline rush disappeared and pain assaulted every corner of my awareness.

My heart sank in time with my fall to the ground. I actually met eyes with Bennett just before I hit pavement. He stared to yell something, but I never heard it, and he never finished it. Two Embers lunged out. He kicked one in the face. The other hit him dead in the chest, and he went down along with me.

I felt air knocked out of my lungs from the rough hit with the ground. I was looking straight at death when I looked at that Ember on top of me. And then, I watched an arrow go through the side of death's head.

_**Who could have fired that arrow? How is the rest of the war looking right now? And, as I seem to have asked at the start of every JJ story, WHERE'S JACOB?**_

_**Oh man, it is SO good to be back.**_


	3. All You Need is a Rae of Sunshine

"_We knew from the beginning we weren't cut out for this, and we figured our best wouldn't even make a difference. I know we're looking at a one way trip, but if sacrificing ourselves is what it takes to save everyone else, can we afford not to?" _

—Derik Chambers

Rae's POV

If we had gotten there a second later, Alex would have died. But we did, and I got the satisfaction of nailing the Ember on top of her clean through the side of the head. Even as I notched another arrow, every Hunter on that helicopter let their own arrows fly, mopping up the rest of the horde. More were coming in, but we'd bought Alex and the soldier with her a second to catch their breath.

I saw Alex look up at us, and I can honestly say she'd seen better days. Her dark hair was matted with sweat and dusted with ash. Blood had trickled from her forehead down to her lip, leaving a dark red line down one side of her face, and her armor and clothing both were battered beyond belief. Her side was bloody, and she clutched it with a burned hand as she limped towards us.

While most of us continued to hold back the Embers with volley after volley of arrows, someone in the helicopter had to good sense to throw down its rope ladder. It certainly wasn't me, I was too busy keeping Embers off of the lone soldier who was with Alex. He looked in much better shape than she was, but he still needed help to get to us alive.

"Let's go!" I shouted to Alex, hoping to get her to pick up the pace. She looked up, locking eyes with me, and limped even faster.

Even so, the soldier made it to the ladder first and immediately scrabbled up it. The Embers were getting very, very close now. One landed on the front of the helicopters, and someone had to stab a hunting knife through the glass to kill it. Another was an inch from leaping into the helicopter through its open doors, and I had to physically kick it back. It plummeted to the ground, disintegrating as it fell.

The soldier pulled himself into the helicopter at the same time Alex finally reach the bottom of the ladder and got a good grip on it. We couldn't wait any longer.

"Take off!" Mariah yelled to the pilot. He didn't hesitate to obey.

We lifted into the air, with Alex still dangling from the ladder. She clung to it for dear life, and though I couldn't quite tell, I thought I saw tears in her eyes. And that's when I realized she wasn't climbing up the ladder.

"Thanks for the rescue," her voice was weak over the radio.

"Alex, get in," I instructed her.

"Just let me…let me catch my breath…for a second," her speech was broken up by groans and hisses of pain. It might have been my imagination, but I think I saw her grip loosen on the ladder as we continued to fly away at top speed.

"Captain, climb on in," the pilot said, attempting to sound nonchalant despite the fear laced in his voice. "It's a little cold out there with all the wind."

Still Alex wouldn't climb up, her head started to hang, and her grip on the ladder definitely loosened.

"Di Angelo, stay awake!" Mariah yelled over the radio.

The soldier we'd picked up along with Alex didn't wait for her response. He gripped the ladder and hauled with all his might, pulling Alex up with it. Instantly there were two Hunters helping him, and we only just managed to pull Alex close enough to grab when she let go of the ladder. The soldier lunged, catching her by the her good wrist even as Mariah had to grab him by the belt to keep _him _from fallinf with her.

Finally, everyone was pulled safely inside, and the helicopter was sealed shut.

"Captain!" the soldier screamed, cradling Alex in his arms. "C'mon, stay with me!"

She had the most tired smile on her face, and it was scaring me. "Oh gods…" she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. "I am so…tired. Good…god job back there, Bennett. I owe you…"

Her eyelids started to flutter shut, even as all of us urged her to stay awake.

"Nectar! Ambrosia!" I called out to everyone. "Does anyone have any left?"

Mariah took her canteen from her belt and shook it next to her ear, listening for even a sound of any precious liquid. She flipped it upside down, and unscrewed the cap. There was barely a cap full. She handed it to the soldier, Bennett, who held it out for Alex. But when she reach up with hands that shook like an earthquake, Bennett decided not to risk a spill. He held the cap to her lips, helping her drink.

She drained the cap faster than an eye could blink, and though it was a pathetically small amount, it did the job. The minor cuts and bruises started to fade, and the bleeding went down a lot in her more severe wounds. She stopped trembling, though now she had a sickened look on her face.

"You gonna be okay?" I asked her.

She nodded, forcing herself to show strength. "It's just pain," she managed. "A lot of pain…argh…I'll live."

"Course you are Cap," Bennett joked. "You're too stubborn to die."

Alex nodded, trying to sit up with a grimace. Very gentle, I pushed her back down so she was once again laying against Bennett. The last thing we needed was for her to strain herself any more than she already had.

She didn't look too happy about having to lay down, but she didn't complain either. After a moment of silence, she asked, "How many people got out?"

The pilot answered. "Every one of our vehicles made it out with a full load and then some. You saved a lot of lives today, ma'am."

"And now you should rest," I added.

"What?" she joked weakly. "And let you have all the fun?"

But even with her tough act, she was out like a light after a couple of minutes of flying, now sprawled out across Bennett's lap. The rest of us rode in silence, glad to be alive and finally having a moment of peace.

"I really thought we were goners back there," Bennett admitted. "Where'd you guys come from?"

"We just finished a shakedown run in the Everglades," I explained. "Monster tearing up a refugee camp. We took care of it, got the refugees out, and then we got the call to pull back to base camp."

"What call?" Bennett asked.

"You didn't get the message?" I asked. "Jacob is having every unit that can return to our base in D.C. Even pulling what we've got internationally. This is the first time you're hearing about this?"

"Our long range communications have been down since the Mexican border. If the Big Guy was giving orders to come home, we sure didn't get them," Bennett explained. He leaned back, careful not to disturb Alex as she slept. "Back to D.C. huh?"

I nodded. "Something big has to be happening if he's calling back _everyone_."

"Think Urunos is making the big push?" Bennett asked.

It was what every Allied fighter. The day Urunos would decide he'd dragged this out long enough, and storm the rebellion's last bastions with everything he had to muster. If it came to that, his numbers most certainly would darken the skies. And there wouldn't be much chance of stopping him.

I shook my head. Call it optimism if you want, but it didn't seem like the case. "No, not yet anyway. I fact, I think we might—"

Our conversation was interrupted as the pilot screamed over the radio, "INCOMING!"

_**It continues in its epicness! I could openly state questions you all already have in your minds, but personally I think I'm going to let that hat sit on the shelf for today. Instead, enjoy this chapter, your day/evening, and the confusing name of origin listed with the quote.**_


	4. Hunters Become the Hunted

"_I hate this war."_

—Anyone and Everyone

Rae's POV

Very abruptly the helicopter lurched to the side as the pilot cried out, "INCOMING!"

We were all thrown against the helicopter's interior, Alex being jarred awake in the process. Mariah steeled herself and staggered to the front as the helicopter continued to bounce and lurch without warning, all the way having to keep her balance while the rest of us were tossed around like rag dolls.

"What's going on?" Mariah screamed at the pilot.

"Cluster of Embers," the pilot hastily explained as his hands danced across the controls. "Must've been looking for the convoy."

Something hit our side hard, and the helicopter gave a jarring quarter spin that sent me flying into Bennett. The pilot cursed, "Too many moving too fast, no losing them now."

"If we don't get rid of them we'll lead them right to the civilians!" Bennett yelled over the cacophony of the attack.

"This thing used to belong to Donald trump, it's not packing any weapons," the pilot yelled back.

"Yes it is," I yelled, grabbing a bow from the many that were bouncing around. "Open the doors! Everybody, strap yourselves down to something!"

All but Mariah obeyed, fixing themselves down with either seatbelts or their own belts latched onto anything that could provide purchase. Mariah shoved open the doors, letting icy whipping winds and the loud sound of rotors enter the cabin.

Both of us notched arrows and got to work, flawlessly hitting the marks as the Embers jerked around in the sky, barely able to fly straight. Trying to line up a shot was hell, and even with two years of experience with a bow I was having trouble. Mariah, many years my superior, was going a lot faster and doing a lot more of the work.

One Ember tried loosing a fireball, though it must have forgotten to keep flying as it did, because even as its flaming missile sailed towards us, the ugly thing plummeted out of the sky. I ducked but the fireball hit my quiver dead on, turning my arrows to cinders. Sparks and smoke from my destroyed quiver hit Mariah right in the face, forcing her to squint and cough.

An Ember slipped in tackling her and tearing her from the cabin. Together, she and the Ember plummeted down to the ground. I reacted as fast as I could, diving out and bringing the rope ladder with me.

Halfway through my dive it occurred to me how stupid that was.

Even carrying Mariah, the Ember managed to right itself and resumed flying, though now its focus was the Hunter on its back instead of the helicopter. I on the other hand, ended up dangling in the sky as our ride continued its lethal dance with the remaining Embers.

I got whipped around like a pigtail on a six year old playing tag, losing my bow now in addition to the quiver that had been seared off my back. Through my dizzied gaze, I was fairly sure I could make out Mariah attempting to _steer_ the Ember she was clinging to for dear life. I barely had time to realize the tangled image of the two was getting closer when I felt a powerful impact hit the ladder.

And then the next thing I knew, there were three people clinging to the ladder. Above me, an Ember thrashed around, tangled in the rungs. Above it, Mariah was frantically kicking at it, trying to banish the thing to Hades without losing her death grip on the ladder. When it wasn't mindlessly flailing, the Ember snapped its jaws at her.

I worked one handed as best I could to draw a hunting knife and stabbed, finally killing it and untangling the ladder. I also managed to slice the very ropes that were keeping me from becoming street pizza, and then gravity took over.

"Rae!" I barely heard Mariah cry over the wind and wicked cries of Embers

If I looked down, all I saw was water rushing up to meet me. Looking up, there was sky and a pack of Embers diving down after me. And then I hit the water.

The water was cool, but almost warm when I compared it to the whipping winds I'd been feeling seconds earlier. Bubbles floated all around me as I sank in. More splashed, accompanied by a boiling hiss let me know the Embers had hit the water too. And as floating bits of ash floated by or settled to the bottom, I got the satisfaction of knowing a lot of them had hit the water a little too hard.

At least I thought, until my head came up from under water and I saw a fresh horde all around me, closing in with slow, predatory determination. My hand went to my one remaining hunting knife while my eyes looked from one Ember to the next. Too many to count. Too many to fight.

"Styx…" I muttered to myself.

The first of them lunged, and a lot of splashing and thrashing later I'd managed to kill it. Fighting and swimming was most definitely _not _my thing. More of them dove at me. Some missed and went under, some hit the water hard enough to disintegrate. Most of them though, hit me dead and on shoved me back under.

Having to hold my breath wasn't making things easier. My only saving grace was that the Embers were even less graceful underwater than I was. Embers churned the water as they thrashed around, their burning bodies heating and boiling water around them like they were living hot springs. I could do little more than kick or stab at the ones that got too close while I scrambled back to the surface.

Shore. I needed to get to shore before these things drowned me.

It felt like eternity, but eventually flailing and splashing around finally got me onto dry land with steaming Embers snapping at my heels. I stabbed one, two, then slit the throat of a third before I lost my balance and fell right onto my butt. With still more Embers bounding after me.

So I guess it was pretty lucky when a storm of arrows cleared every Ember about to tear off my face. I looked up and watched with a huge smile of relief as every single Hunter dove from the helicopter into the body of water that I had only moments ago been in.

Mariah was the first one out of the water, dripping wet and but otherwise fine. Everyone else soon followed, soaking but okay.

"You guys didn't have to jump out of a helicopter for me," I tried to joke. Mariah rolled her eyes in annoyance, but I got a laugh out of some of the other girls.

"Try to be more careful next time," was all Artemis's lieutenant said. No "Are you alright?" Classic Mariah.

"So how exactly do we plan on getting to D.C. now?" I asked.

"Our feet still work fine," one of the Hunters said with a smile. "And we've traveled farther on foot before."

"I suppose we just landed ourselves in a very long hunting trip," Mariah said. "Let's hope we actually can find a ride along the way."

"Let's hope the helicopter has any luck with those Embers," I added, looking up to the now empty sky.

"The Embers followed you down Rae," Mariah explained. "And then we followed them. The helicopter is safe and sound, as is everyone who was smart enough not to jump like we did."

Mariah looked around. We'd all splashed down in a lake, but surrounding the lake were thick grooves of trees and worn semi-paved paths that ventured into them. The air was humid, the sky was clear, and our stomachs were full.

"Alright everyone, let's go," Mariah ordered. We all began to form up, everyone but me slinging their bows onto their shoulders for the long trek ahead.

But before we could even hit the trees, one last Ember leapt up from the water, steam curling off of it as its charged us. Mariah was the fastest draw of all of us, and even she wasn't quick enough. A hunter was tackled, and the Ember got a firm grip on her shoulders. The struggling pair began to glow red, and the girl screamed for an instant before Mariah let an arrow fly. I pierced straight through the Ember, and ended up in between the girl's eyes.

We all looked at the body in shock. A Hunter, a friend, a sister gone in the blink of an eye. Killing her had been a mercy compared to letting her live possessed, but that didn't ease anyone's feelings as we watched blood trickle down the dead body's ash covered forehead.

It was Mariah who broke the silence. "Rae, grab her bow and quiver. Natasha, Sally, find something we can use to bury the body."

I wasn't sure if I had qualms about using a dead Hunter's bow, but then I didn't have much choice if I wanted to stay alive in a fight. Reluctantly, I stripped the girl of her weapons, closed her still open eyes, and blinked back tears before they could come. I hated this war.

Using a pair of shovels usually reserved for digging campfire pits, Natasha and Sally dug out a small grave while the rest of us either set up a temporary camp in the woods or stood watch for any more Embers. No one talked much.

The body was buried, food was found, a fire was made, food was eaten, night watches were assigned, and one by one we all drifted to sleep. I closed my eyes, unable to get the image of a fellow Hunter being possessed by Urunos out of my mind.

What woke me up were the screams. And the slapping. Most definitely the slapping.

I woke up to the combo of Hunters screaming and Mariah slapping me across the face and yelling "Get up, now!"

I forced my eyes open and my muscles into gear as quickly as I could, grabbing a bow and quiver and getting acquainted with what the Hades was going on. Arrows were criss-crossing in every direction, several trees were on fire, and the shrieks of Embers were coming from every direction.

My first arrow saved Hunter from getting tackled from behind. My second went through the eye socket of an Ember no less than two feet away from me. Mariah was already using hunting knifes, hacking at anything that moved. Eventually in the cacophony of it all, we ended up back to back, fighting for our lives.

"What the Hades!" I yelled. Even I wasn't sure if it was a question or a simple curse.

"They must have tracked us down!" Mariah yelled back. She killed another Ember in a decapitating strike.

One by one, Hunters were tackled to the ground or grabbed from behind or overwhelmed from the front, and Embers grabbed hold. I lost track of what exactly was going on, I was just focused on my fight or flight antics. When archery became too slow to keep up, I switched to knives and Mariah and I continued slashing, back to back.

And then all at once, it was over. Every single Ember was gone, and Mariah and I were alone, panting hard in the warm night air, arrows and bodies scattered around us.

My arms were sore and my legs were like jell-o as I came down from an extended adrenaline rush. Mariah swept her gaze left and right looking for anything else that could be moving in the trees. The flickering of the campfire and burning tree bark was our only source of light.

It was quiet. Disturbingly quiet.

And then it dawned on me why. "Where are the others?" I asked in a cautious whisper.

Glowing red forms slowly crept towards us through the trees. As they got closer, I could recognize names, faces. Natasha, Sally, Isabel…their names went on in my head as they slowly surrounded us, glaring at us with glowing red eye sockets. Some had bows drawn, others carried their knives. All of them looked prepared to kill us.

"Rae…" Mariah began.

"I'll take half if you take half," I said, though my shaky voice was far from confident. Could I even kill faces that were so familiar?

I met the gaze of every single one of the now possessed Hunters. Mariah did the same, though her responsive gaze was a glare of firm determination. She tightened her grip on her knives, I swallowed a lump of fear.

And then as one, the Hunters attacked.

I moved as fast as I could, deflecting attacks and countering when I saw chance. At some point, I had to grab a Hunter and use her as a human shield from an incoming arrow, she gasped in shock as the arrow went through stomach, and then collapsed in my arms.

No time to feel bad, only time to toss the body aside and react. I sprinted as fast as I could towards the girl who'd fired the arrow, and ran straight through her with my knife. I couldn't even pull it out before two hands gripped my shoulders from behind.

I pulled free from the grasp and whirled around, ready to fight. But I was shocked to stillness as I looked into Mariah's glowing red gaze. She gave me an evil smile in return, grabbed my shoulders, and suddenly everything went black.

_**Who here remembers the preview? Two words: It's happened.**_


	5. The Boss Man with a Plan

"_Dying a horrible gory mess? Some destiny."_

—_Derik Chambers_

Jacob's POV

_I tried to ignore the blood as I crawled toward the briefcase. My radio earpiece was blaring out of control, and the amount of Russian did a great job of making everything sound like utter gibberish. Shrieks of attacking Embers filled the air, accompanied by the staccato of gunshots fired by soldiers low on ammo._

_My shaky hands flicked open the latches of the brief case, and opened it to reveal a mess of displays, buttons, and switches. I tried to remember Putin's instructions. Hit the third switch, then the first, then…Or was I supposed to put in the code on the keypad first…?_

_I forced myself to think through the blood loss. Keypad. First switch. Third switch. _

"_Exit's blocked, we can't clear the blast zone!" someone yelled over the radio._

"_Someone tell the general he's got to delay that bomb. We need more time move these civilians!"_

"_We're pinned down and we've got wounded! If that thing goes off, we're fried!"_

_I'd hated this plan from the start. No matter how many times I told myself that sacrificing a million here would save two million somewhere else, it didn't sit right in my stomach. My hand hovered over the red button as I debated with myself._

"_Jackson!" a commanding voice with a thick Russian accent barked. "The distraction forces are about to be overwhelmed. You need to detonate the missile or the other evacuations are dead!"_

_I swallowed the hard lump in my throat, and pressed down. Screams briefly filled the radio, followed by static and silence._

I woke up in my cot in the command tent, sweating bullets and breathing way too heavily. Light was coming in through the tents flaps. Gods, what time was it?

A girl stood awkwardly at the entrance, looking guilty for having walked in while I was sleeping. Cynthia, daughter of Hermes. Young, inexperienced. Over the course of the war, she'd become something of an administrative assistant to me. She sent out messages, kept tabs on every field unit, monitored supplies, and pretty much everything else I barely had time for.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still sleeping," she apologized.

"It's fine," I assured her, hopping out of bed and grabbing my clothes form the floor. "Didn't want to sleep in today anyway."

Cynthia waited patiently while I dressed myself. Jeans, boots, grey t-shirt and an army green jacket, now decorated with the gold colored rank symbols on the collar were all pulled on, followed by a worn leather utility belt that held my binoculars, radio earpiece, and of course, Miz who was proudly sheathed as a sword rather than stuffed into my pocket as a pen.

"Alright, what've you got?" I asked as I finished.

Cynthia immediately looked to her notepad, going over a list she'd undoubtedly written. "Roxanne and Rick have both made it back last night with their units and at least five hundred refugees each. Will's crew just finished construction on the new quarters for them."

"Do we have enough to feed that many?" I asked.

Cynthia nodded, turning the page. "I was getting to that. Han and Tony's supply groups both made it back with no casualties and full loads. Food, water, and weapons are all being tallied, stored, and distributed as we speak. I can have exact figures sent to the command tent if you want to see them."

"I'll pass on the reports this time," I assured her. "Too many numbers, even for me."

Cynthia smiled and flipped her notepad to the next page. "James is expected to show up later today, finally."

I paid more attention. James and his unit were supposed to have made it back to D.C. a long time ago, but apparently they'd run into a huge group of refugees accompanied by an Allied unit who hadn't gotten the call to return to D.C. That unit was Alex's, the 2nd Allied Defense Force.

"The 2nd and the refugees?" I asked.

"They're both with him," Cynthia assured me.

I nodded, feeling palpable relief pass through me. Alex's unit was okay. She was okay. I let myself be happy about that, and then forced myself to switch back into business mode.

"Is Henry back yet?" I asked.

Cynthia flipped through her notepad. "No, but he did finish his assignment overseas. He sent out a message, said he'd be back sometime this week if the Embers don't find and sink him."

"How reassuring," I half-laughed. "Have someone notify me when he arrives."

Cynthia wrote something down in her notepad as she nodded her understanding. "You'll be the first to know."

"Good," I said. "Make sure he comes to see me as soon as he's back. I need to know how things went, from him."

"Understood, sir," Cynthia diligently said. She paused. "Ready for the bad news now?"

I sighed. A while back when she'd first started out in this job, I'd had to tell Cynthia that whenever she gave a report, she had to give the bad news last. I really, really hated the bad news. But it was still news I had to know. "What are the new casualties?"

"The 1st Allied Attack Group's detachment in Canada was hit," Cynthia informed reluctantly. "No survivors. And we've officially lost contact with the Hunters. Almost a week, and still no word from them. People in communications are assuming the worst."

The 1st Allied Attack Group was my own personal force. We met Urunos and his army head-on, struck hard, and fell back with minimum losses. Organized to be fast, the 1st was a great rescue force for refugee holdouts or other units in need of support. They were some of the best. And a hundred of them were now either dead or possessed.

As bad as that was, news of the Hunters was worse. Their last known position had been Florida, on their way back to D.C. And then, they'd just vanished. Hunters were a different kind of loss. If Urunos got a hold of them, he wouldn't just have Embers, he would have an enslaved fighting force trained by Artemis herself. I prayed to every Olympian that they'd just been killed outright.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of vehicles arriving outside the tent. I opened up the tent flaps and stepped outside to see what was going on, followed by Cynthia.

A caravan of vehicles were moving through the Allied camp. Trucks, SUVs, helicopters, all of them stuffed to the breaking point with soldiers and refugees. A motor cycle pulled away from the bulk of the herd, and it's rider pulled off his helmet.

"James," I greeted the young son of Apollo as he hopped off the bike. "Good to see you back in one piece."

"Good to be back," he said with white smile. "Let me tell you, it is Hades out there."

I jerked my head to the flood of bodies and vehicles. "This all yours?"

James looked them over as they came in. "I do have troops mixed in there, but most of this is refugees and survivors from the 2nd. Big group, huh?"

"It was Alex leading them, remember?" I chuckled, glad to see a sign of us doing some good. I couldn't even count all these people coming in. Oh, I'm sure Cynthia was going to have an aneurism trying to arrange supplies for everyone, but just to see this many people saved…it made all of this feel worth it. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

James' smile fell into a frown. "Uh, right…Jacob…some of the guys from the 2nd explained…"

I felt like someone was shoving my heart down into my stomach. I couldn't even believe the words as they came out of James' mouth.

"Alex…she got left behind when the 2nd pulled out of Disneyland. She held back the whole horde on her own, distracted them while the troops and refugees got out," James recounted. He saw the look on my face, an it must have been bad, because he stopped. "Jacob…I'm sorry."

"Say it," I mumbled.

"What?" James asked.

"Say it out loud, just say it," I said, my voice cracking ever so slightly. "It's the only way I'm going to believe you."

"I…"

"Say it," I repeated.

"She's gone," James said, putting it into words.

I wanted go down to my knees. I wanted punch something. I wanted to grieve, to beg for this to be a nightmare or to accuse James of lying. But I couldn't. Not now, with everyone counting on _me _to be the strong leader. No, I had to stay focused. I couldn't think about…about…

I pushed those thoughts, those feelings, down. Down so deep that I was sure I wouldn't have to deal with them for a long time. Now was not the time for Jacob to grieve. Now was the time for General Jackson to get back to work.

"Thank you for telling me," I said, my voice level again.

And I walked away. I so desperately wanted to scream. Stealing a second to myself would have to do.

_**I COULD have continued this chapter on and tweaked things a bit so Jacob would know that Alex is alive, but I wanted to showcase that Jacob is being pressured by this war to do things differently than he normally would want to.**_


	6. Dead Now Means Almost Dead

Jacob's POV

I stared down at the world map as both the demigod commanders and the mortal officers left the command tent after the last meeting. Cynthia stayed, furiously scribbling in her note pad all the important things that we'd gone over.

The world map was covered in multicolored pins. Blue pins stood for Allied bases. Grey pins for evacuated cities, black pins for destroyed. Purple pins were areas currently or recently under attack but still standing. Green pins meant refugee camps, and orange pins meant units we had in the field. Red pins were areas where the enemy was in control and in force. The amount of red and black on the map gave a very grim feeling, but nevertheless I needed something to focus my attention on, and the map worked.

Two days had turned sorrow into harnessed rage and determination. Urunos was going to pay. Not just for Alex, but for the Hunters, and for Chiron. He was going to pay for London, Moscow, France, and every other city and innocent life he'd dared to take. I was going to make him wish he'd never started this war.

Cynthia's earpiece chirped, and she stopped writing in her notepad long enough to listen.

"Yes?" she answered. "Uh-huh. Thank you."

She closed her notepad and tucked her pen behind her ear for the moment. Something important was happening if Cynthia was take a pause from the notepad. "Sir?" she said politely as possible.

"Cynthia, we've been over this," I said. I'd meant to put a half-chuckle in, but my voice came out dull and slow. "It's just Jacob."

She nodded. "You asked me to let you know when Henry arrived?"

"I did," I agreed.

The tent flaps of the command tent were thrown open as the son of Poseidon himself strode in. Pressures of war had changed his surfer style over the years. His shorts and no shirt look was replaced by worn dark jeans and an olive drab army jack left open, exposing a muscular chest sculpted by years of fighting. His dark hair was and messy as usual.

"Jacob!" he greeted with a huge grin. "Man I can't tell you how good it is to be back home. Well, you know, the same continent as home. But I gotta say, the trip across the Atlantic was _amazing_. First day after the war's over, you and me are going sailing. Sun, ocean, probably ten girls each. Ten's not excessive for war heroes, is it? Because if it…"

He stopped, looking me in the eye with concern. His smile faded. "Jacob? What happened? You look like a ten year old who got sent to bed without dinner. For life."

I almost said it out loud. I was almost able to just say it as a stoic fact and then ignore it, suppress the pain with a mountain of logic and detachment. But I choked on the words, and all that pain from two days ago came hurtling back like a sucker punch from a Minotaur.

"I…I really don't want to talk about it," I said honestly.

Henry looked at me with worry. It clicked for him. "Oh gods. Tell me I'm jumping to the wrong conclusion again."

Henry and I knew each other too well, I knew what guess he'd made and he knew he was right. "You're not."

Henry grimaced. "Jacob, dude…I'm sorry."

"Can't let it be vain, right?" I said wearily. "Fight the good fight, every war has it's casualties, all that?"

"How you handling it?" Henry asked.

"Up until now, I was ignoring it," I admitted. I turned, gripped the table with the world map. I let myself feel a stab of pain before continuing. "I really don't want to be in charge right now."

I didn't. I didn't want the responsibility, the pressure, the countless lives resting on what I did and when. All the people I'd sent to their deaths, some intentionally. The burning cities, the lives sacrificed, I could feel all of that weighing down on me, on my head. This was what the guy at top had to deal with, and I hated it. I barely had time to sleep, forget grieving for my…best friend? Almost girlfriend? I didn't even know anymore.

"Helicopter coming in!" Someone outside the tent yelled.

Henry looked at me, silently asking if I was in decent enough shape to handle Allied General duties. I sighed. I didn't want to go out there, where people needed me. But…

"Duty calls," I said reluctantly, walking towards the exit of the command tent. Henry stopped me, grabbing my arm.

"Everyone needs a break Jacob," Henry reminded. "Don't bite off more than you can chew."

"Isn't that what we're all doing?" I asked sadly. I left the command tent, and followed the soldiers who were running to the landing helicopter at a slow, tired pace.

The helicopter landed and its doors opened even as its rotors were still slowing down. A woman hopped out, clutching baby tight against her chest. A soldier came out next, looking around.

"Medic!" he called out. "Healer, somebody! We've got a wounded on board! Someone help me move her, c'mon quit standing around staring!"

James pushed his way through the crowd. "James, son of Apollo and a healer. Who's hurt?"

The young soldier carried a body out of the helicopter. She was dressed in dark clothing and scorched, shredded armor. Dark hair and dried blood obscured the face, but even through that I recognized who it was. The trouble was I was looking at something that shouldn't be possible.

"The Captain got hurt, bad," the soldier carrying her said. "She's held up so far but she's getting worse, you have to help her."

Captain. I studied the uniform of the soldier more closely, until I was sure he was from the 2nd. The troops of the 2nd only called one person their captain.

"Alex!" I cried out, not caring how many troops were watching me right now.

I pushed my way through the crowd to reach James and the soldier as they worked Alex onto a proper stretcher. I was at her side as fast as I could be.

"Alex!" I said again. I looked to James. "Can you..?"

James bit his lower lip. "She's banged up, but she has a chance, a very good chance. Do we have any nectar or ambrosia left?"

"You'll get everything we've got," I told him, not taking my eyes off of her until two soldier finally volunteered to carry her stretcher to the med tent. I followed them. James looked like he wanted to object, maybe say that I would just get in the way and I couldn't do anything, but he must've understood how I was feeling right now.

I'd just spend two days thinking Alex was dead. And now here she was, dying on a stretcher in front of me. Relief and lingering sorrow mixed with confusion and shock to give a disturbing feeling of nausea. I kept time step with James and the soldiers, and together all of us stepped into the med tent.

_**I feel like this chapter was…off, somehow.**_


	7. I Don't Make Plans, I Keep Them Secret

James was understanding enough to not to try and send me off right from the get go, but eventually I had to accept the fact that I really couldn't do much besides get in the way, and when James finally asked me to leave so he and the other medics could do their job, I obliged. I wasn't the only one getting shooed out either. Several soldiers from the 2nd had tried to crowd in as well, all of them anxious to see if their captain was going to be okay.

At any rate, I did still have a job to do. For one, I'd never actually gotten to talk to Henry about how things had gone over seas. I'd found him outside the armory, sitting on a crate of ammunition and cleaning his trident with an old rag.

"Henry," I said, getting his attention. "Got a second?"

Henry looked up as he sent his trident aside. "Jacob! Yeah, yeah, sure thing. I just finished catching up with Roxanne."

I examined his face. "No bruises this time," I noted. "Making progress?"

Henry gave a devilish grin. "Dude, she so wants me."

I shook my head and gave a disbelieving chuckle. Some things would never change, it seemed. And as annoyed as Roxanne no doubt was, I was glad that there were still things that were the same even with the war going on.

"Hey, stop changing the subject!" I said as I realized our ADHD had gotten off track. "You assignment, how'd it go? I need details."

Henry shrugged and stood up to continue our conversation at eye level. "Boring and without a hitch. Found all the resistance camps you had marked, stocked them up with supplies and weapons, pointed out a few enemy strong points to them. Even found a few extra groups we didn't know about. You won't believe the resistance the French have cooked up. Or the way—"

"Henry," I interrupted, with "Focus!" implied. "What's it like out there?"

"Pretty quiet, actually," Henry said. "It's weird. Except for a couple concentrated areas, the Embers left out there are kinda…docile. They just mull around, spread out. If you're smart, you'll never run into a horde. Just little packs of two or three, tops. It's like once Urunos bulldozes over an area, he doesn't see a reason to pay it any attention."

"Then why would he even have any forces there at all?" I asked.

"My guess is stragglers and resistances, though really none of them get very much attention," Henry said. "It's like every person left alive after the main army moves on is beneath their notice. And I have to say, with good reason. These resistance groups are tiny Jacob. Most of them were using sticks and rocks before I found them. If were Urunos, I wouldn't be worried about those guys either. They weren't in any danger, why'd we bother shipping weapons and supplies to them?"

"It's all part of the plan," I said reflexively.

"Oh no, don't you try any of that strategist mumbo jumbo where you don't tell anyone anything until you're ready to move," Henry said with a glare. "And don't try changing the subject to make me forget what we're talking about either! I mean it Jacob, tell me what's going on."

I sighed in defeat. Henry was most definitely smarter than he appeared. "We're going to attack," I admitted.

Henry's glare vanished and jaw went slack, and with good reason. Never, not once in the two long years of the war had the Allies ever attacked anything. It had all been hopeless defense and evacuation, just barely struggling to stay alive, never mind striking back.

"What?" Henry asked, his voice shaking with surprise and disbelief. "Jacob, it took the gods and Kronos put together to slow down Urunos. If we attacked just him we'd been in for hell, never mind the Poseidon knows how big a horde of Embers."

"Which is why we're going to thin out the herd," I said. I stopped, looking around to see if there was anyone close enough to eavesdrop. thankfully, there wasn't. "If we can draw Urunos' attention away from us, the bulk of our forces, he'll be forced to divide his."

"Yeah, and what's going to distract the ancient god with his sights set on turning us to pulp, a butterfly?" Henry asked. "He's not me, Jacob you'd need to—"

It dawned on Henry just then. Say what you wanted about Henry's mind, it could consider a lot of different possibilities in a very short time frame. All it took was a few pieces of the puzzle, and he had me figured out. "Oh my gods... You're going to use those resistances as bait. That's why you had me delivering them weapons."

"If you were Urunos, would you be distracted by Frenchmen throwing rocks?" I asked. I meant it as a joke, but it came out reluctant, and I knew why. Even if this plan worked, all those tiny bands of survivors and rebels were going to get crushed, and just to open up a path for us to attack.

"How come I'm just now hearing about this?" Henry asked. "Who else knows about this?"

"Just you," I said. "I was waiting to let the word out. Didn't want to get everyone's hopes up."

"Didn't want to get our hopes up, or didn't want to scare the Hades out of us?" Henry asked, and i could actually hear worry in his voice. "Attack Urunos's main army? And using a bunch of rag-tag resistance groups to thin them out? I'm no strategist, but even if that turns out to be a good plan, that's crazy!"

"Look, this is a conversation best saved for the command tent," I said. "We're not ready to make our move until everyone has pulled back to D.C. and regrouped. Until then, I _need _you to keep a lid on this."

Henry looked at me like I was a total stranger, and at that moment I wasn't sure whether or not he was willing to go along with this. But, slwoly, he gave in. "Yeah. Yeah okay. I trust you. Just…make sure this is the right call man. If it's not, a lot of people are going to die for nothing."

"I don't waste lives Henry," I assured him, and I meant it. "But sometimes, I have to spend them."

Henry nodded his reluctant understanding, and sat back down so he could get back to work on his trident. "I'm probably not the first guy to say I don't even you Jacob. I don't think I could make calls like this.

Cynthia ran up to us then. "Sir— Jacob, Captain di Angelo just went critical."

Henry looked up. "Wait…that's not good, is it?"

_**For some reason, my quiet chapters are way shorter than my action chapters. Meh. I blame the southern Atlantic ocean.**_


	8. What Happens in Vegas

"_Tis better to love and lost than never to have loved at all,"_

_-Tennyson_

I don't think I have to explain how fast all of us ended up in the med tent, standing over Alex. She was pale beyond pale, she looked cold and stiff, and the look on James' face wasn't feeling me with confidence. Everyone in the med tent was scrambling around, James was yelling orders in every direction for more of this to go there and for someone to take care of that. Wounded soldiers and refugees who were in better shape were looking around in confusion at the chaos.

"What's going?" I asked as soon as I managed to push through to James.

"Jacob!" James said, only turning to look at me for a brief second. "Alex is slipping, we think it might be the blood loss. Overlooked it while I was treating the burns. I stopped the bleeding but she's dangerously low. Look, I know you're worried but unless you've got O positive blood, you're in the way right now. Someone check our reserves, gods damn it!"

"Hey!" a new voice shouted above the cacophony. Henry and I both turned and watched as a young soldier pushed his way through to us. He was taller than me or James, his face partially scrubbed of a coat of ash, his uniform very clearly placing him as one of Alex's troops. "Hey, what's going on? What's wrong with the Captain?"

James groaned in frustration. "Blood loss, now get out of here, you can't do anything beyond get in the way right n—"

"What blood type?" the soldier demanded, not backing down.

James got a tone of hope in his urgent voice. "O positive."

"Same as me," the soldier said.

James turned to him. "Then pull up a chair! You're gonna feel lightheaded really soon."

James barked a few urgent commands, the soldier was plopped into a chair, and I was ushered out once again by James. Kept saying I would just have to wait, that he would do his best, and that the best way to help Alex was to stay out of the way.

Had he not had a point on every account, I might have punched him in the face.

Gods damn. This is exactly what I've been trying to avoid. And I'd been doing such a good job too.

Alex and I had feelings for each other, we'd both accepted that. We'd also decided, for a million different reasons, now was not the time to think about that. It was a distraction, it clouded judgment, the world needed us more than we needed each other, the list went on for a while.

So we'd just kept it at best friends. It worked actually. Sure the others would joke around about it, but we knew our boundaries and we obeyed them. Being constantly at war and thousands of miles apart most of the time was a good distraction too.

Just friends. And it worked.

At least up until a four months ago, deep scouting just outside what had once been Las Vegas.

* * *

><p>Alex pressed us both down lower as a pack of Embers moved past. Some of them even jumped onto the car we were hiding in as the clambered towards the same ruined city we'd just spent twelve hours trying to get out of. The blood on her shirt was still wet enough for me to feel in our cramped hiding spot, and I'm sure I heard her give the slightest gasp of pain.<p>

"You okay?" I whispered.

"Shh!" was her quiet reply.

More Embers passed by, some walking on the ground, some climbing over cars, some flying. Their burning, charred bodies stood out against the bright desert sun and barren, rocky landscape. The highway leading out of Vegas was full of cars, partially wrecked, burnt out shells, even some that were almost perfectly intact.

The two of us had been searching for any enemy strongpoints, and had found a big one in Vegas. A harrowing twelve hours later, Alex's armor had been thrashed until it reverted back into ordinary clothing, her spear was gone, our communications gear was fried, and we were stuck hiding in what was left of a Toyota Camry.

We stayed there for I don't know how long. The sun was starting to go down, our muscles were cramped, and we were both covered in sweat.

But it was quiet.

Neither of us could hear any Embers, nothing bumped into our hiding place, it was just dead silent desert air. Very cautiously, Alex peeked around to see if they were really gone. She scanned her head from left to right and back again before giving me a cautious nod.

Cramped muscles finally got the chance to stretch as we climbed out of the car. Dusk was coming up very fast, but the coast was clear, and desert air had never felt so cool.

"Thank gods that's over," I said as I stretched out my shoulders.

Alex gave a tired smile and a nod in response, then looked down to the blood stained spot on her shirt. Very carefully, she pulled back the fabric where it had torn and the Ember had gotten her. The bleeding had stopped, and the blood was mostly dried, but the wound was still raw and some of the surrounding burns looked painful.

"You okay?" I asked.

"A little light headedness never killed anyone," she said confidently. Her hand brushed accidentally brushed the wound as she pulled away, and she hissed. "James is going to love patching this one up," she said, fighting back pain.

It was no secret now that Alex had a tendency to punch medics when she wasn't properly restrained, but it was a lesson James and every other medic had found out the hard way.

"I don't envy him," I joked. "So, find a car that still works?"

Alex shook her head. "The sun's almost down. Once it's dark enough, I can shadow travel us out of here. Might as well just wait."

"Well let's find another hiding spot then, I don't want to be out in the open if more Embers show up," I said, walking through the mess of wrecked cars on the road and looking for a good one in hide in.

"Preferably something with a little more space in it this time," Alex added.

I laughed as we walked among the cars. "Agreed. Though if we're force to cram together to save our lives, I think I'll live."

"Very funny," Alex said sarcastically. "I swear Jacob, if your elbow had jabbed me one more time, I think I might have turned you into the world's smartest fish stick."

"You know you love me," I taunted confidently.

"War's not over yet Jackson," she reminded with a smile. I just laughed.

That was when we heard it. It was quiet, but it sound a lot like—

"—crying?" Alex said, stopping in her tracks. "Jacob, do you hear that?"

I nodded, and looked around. It was muffled, but it almost sounded close. I looked around at all the cars until my gaze fell on a white, perfectly intact SUV. Alex and I exchanged a look, and cautiously approached. Our eyes met again, and through subtle glances we worked out who was going to open the car up. I grabbed hold of the SUV's door handle, and yanked it open.

The crying got much louder, and very suddenly the air smelled like death. I had to choke down a gag when that stench hit me. Then I saw what was inside, and I forgot about the smell.

Alex and I both stared at each other, into the van, and then back at each other. Because lying on its back, in the backseat of the SUV, blood stains on some of its clothes, crusted food on its mouth, was a baby crying its eyes out.

"Oh gods…" I let out.

Sitting in the front seat was a body, freshly dead, blood covering its legs that looked badly broken. There were a lot of empty water bottles and discarded food containers on the car floor. I recoiled at the entire sight.

Alex immediately reached in, pulling the crying infant out of that mess and cradling it in her arms. It continued to scream, uncomforted.

"Is it okay?" I asked.

"It's not hurt," Alex said, "but crying isn't usually a good sign."

"Well why's it crying?" I asked.

Alex looked down to the baby, and back up at me. She was biting her lower lip, and had a look of pity on her face. It hit me in an instant.

"You're kidding…" I said.

And that was how a baby stopped crying after it got to wear my jacket as a diaper. He giggled happily in Alex's arms, tugging at her hair and drooling absent mindedly.

"At least we know it's a boy," Alex offered.

"Yeah, that's the end of that jacket," was all I had to say. "Let's just get back to base already. We'll find someone who can take care of him, we can get patched up, get some food, and—"

A distant shriek cut me off, and all three of us went rigid and dead quiet. The baby's smile vanished, and a deep, curious stare filled his eyes as he gazed out in the direction of where the shriek had come from. Alex unconsciously tightened her grip around the baby, and Miz was in my hand. My thumb rested tensely on the button, ready to click him to life.

Then, far out on the freeway, headed our way, we saw them.

"Embers," I said. "We need to get out of here, now. Alex?"

"I need a shadow big enough and dark enough," she said.

"Would underneath a car work?" I asked.

"It'll have to," she said, laying on her back and clutching the baby with one arm. She squirmed her way toward the underside of the nearest car. "Jacob, watch our backs."

"Consider it done," I said.

Miz clicked to life, extending out into the three foot, jeweled Celestial bronze sword. The sapphires in the tip and base both glinted in the setting sun, the blade glowed along its razor edge.

_What happen to all the slot machines? _Miz asked.

"I'll tell you later," I said, tightened my grip around the hilt. The group of Embers was approaching fast, but it didn't look like they'd seen us yet.

"Alex," I called out, "they haven't spotted us. If we stay quiet, they might just pass us by again."

An Ember from the oncoming horde shrieked, and the baby in Alex's arms started crying and thrashing. Stealth went out the window.

"Of course," I muttered.

_You and the Scary Chick have a kid? How long have I been out?_

"For gods' sake Miz!" I yelled. Now was most definitely not the time.

"What?" Alex asked as she pulled the baby back against her chest. She was having trouble crawling and keeping the baby in her grasp at the same time. "Oh stay still! Jacob, what's going on?"

And just like that the Embers were on us, and Miz became a blur of bronze and blue. The first line of Embers didn't even have time to glare at me, they just crumbled to ashes as I hacked into them. I waded into their numbers, drawing their attention and keeping all their attacks focused on me.

I turned a single slash into a spin that transitioned to a final backward stab, killing four of the monsters stupid enough to get too close. One pounced, but almost without effort I sidestepped, grabbed it by the back of the neck, and ran Miz straight through its charred skull. Another met its end with a hilt slam followed up a swift kick to the chest.

I didn't stop moving, didn't stop killing. A fireball came my way, crackling red and orange as it tore a path of hot air leading straight for my face. I let out a slow exhale as it came, felt my body temperature drop, felt my muscles grow looser. And then, I collapsed as my body and sword both seamlessly transformed into a pool of water. The fireball sailed straight past where I'd been and hit an Ember dead in the chest, killing it.

As quickly as it had happened before, I pulled myself back together, turning from water back to flesh and blood. I really felt that these things didn't have a chance. That was until one of them managed to grab me from behind. What's worse, the thing grabbed me by the shoulders.

I dropped to my knees, feeling icy fingers trying to pry their way into my head from what felt like the back of my skull. The tips of my fingers and toes started to go numb, and a mind crippling headache set in. The tattoos across my arm lit up bright blue, leaving a searing painful sensation in my arm that made it hard to tell which way was up.

I could feel Urunos struggling to get a grip on me, and I could feel every fiber of myself fighting back against it.

_Jacob! _Miz screamed in my head. _I can't… he's try….losing…you—_

_SUBMIT! _A voice bellowed in my mind, drowning out anything else Miz had to say.

I screamed as the struggle between Poseidon's blessing and Urunos's curse ripped me apart from the inside out. The glow of my tattoos started to flicker. Everything sounded like I was underwater and separated from the rest of the world by a glass window. It was all muffled, dulled, distorted. My vision blurred the way most people's did when they got a lot of water in their eyes.

_GIVE! IN!_

"Jacob!" I heard someone scream, their voice cutting through the haze of my mind. Through the pain, I couldn't remember who the voice belonged to.

There was a loud crackle, and the air around me felt like it was boiling. Arcs of black lightning crackled in front of my face, frying every Ember around me. Urunos's attacks on my mind receded, my tattoos abruptly went dark, and I collapsed to the ground gasping for air.

Lying on the floor, immobilized from what had just happened, I watched as Alex fought with nothing but fists, feet, and enough dark electricity to make a thunderstorm hide under the covers. All I heard was the crackle of her attacks, the shrieks of Embers as they either pounced or fled, and the screaming cries of a baby. I searched around, looking for it, finally finding the poor little guy underneath a car bawling as Embers poured in from all around.

I tried moving, but not a single muscle in my body responded. All I could do was cry out as a fireball hit Alex in the back and knocked her to the ground, and the Embers closed in. Sparks flew, clouds of ash puffed all around her as she kicked and thrashed from the ground.

And then an Ember flipped the car Alex had hid the baby under, exposing him.

The Embers turned, shrieking with wicked glee at their new find. Fire danced on some of their fingers.

"No!" Alex cried from underneath the dog pile of Embers on top of her.

I forced myself to stand and sprint, but only made it about five strides before my legs gave out again and I got a face full of asphalt. I scrambled across the ground for the remaining distance, pushing through the crowd of Embers and throwing myself on top of the baby just as the Embers unleashed a volley of fire.

I cringed as hot flames briefly licked at my back before dying out. Smoke rose up off of me, the air stung my back, but both the baby and I were still alive, and nobody was on fire.

Embers prepared for another attack. I braced myself, letting the water in my body take up dominance once again. My whole body turned into a protective dome of water surrounding the baby just as the next wave of fire attacks hit.

Pain forced the transformation back into flesh, steam now rising off my skin and clothes. The baby screamed underneath me, terrified but still fine. I wasn't sure if I could hold up under another assault like that. The bloodline of Poseidon made me difficult to burn. Difficult, but not impossible.

Embers got ready, and I braced myself for the worst.

The clouds above rumbled in what sounded like anger. A lightning bolt, black as the night sky, shot down, striking the Embers surrounding me. It arced across their ranks, frying every last one of them. It was all over in less than a second, and then after the roll of thunder, it was dead quiet once more.

I looked up, and saw an exhausted looking Alex give a weak smile before dropping to the ground.

I looked around, and after making sure to roll off of the still screaming baby boy, I promptly lost consciousness.

I don't know how long I was out, but I came to with a baby sleeping on my chest, a stinging pain in my back, a sore arm, and a throbbing headache. It took a moment to sink in that I was still alive. But eventually, it did, and with that revelation came another one.

"Alex!" I remembered.

I sat up, cradling the baby in my arms as I looked around frantically in every direction. Thankfully, sprawled on the street not far was Alex, face first in the pavement but otherwise fine. Tucking the baby in tightly, I sprinted over to her.

"Oh gods, please be okay," I begged, rolling her onto her back. She had a few scrapes and bruises, but that was all I could see was wrong. The baby stirred in my arms, waking up while I double checked to make sure Alex was okay. "Alex?"

Alex moaned, still unconscious. "Oh…kittens…I hate kittens…"

Despite the situation, I had to laugh, though I instantly regretted it. Something must have been busted, because it hurt to laugh. Alex's eyes fluttered open, and the little boy in my arms squealed happily.

"Jacob?" Alex asked groggily, as if she couldn't believe we were still alive. "We won?"

"Thanks to you," I said. I smiled down at her, out of gratitude and admiration. "Nice work back there."

Still lying on the ground, Alex gave a tired, half laugh, then her expression turned back to worry. "The baby?"

I held him up for her to see. "Not a scratch."

Alex smiled, tired but triumphant. The baby reached out for her, grabbing a lock of her hair and tugging lightly. Alex and I both laughed, and even though it still hurt to laugh, I didn't mind too much. Alex finally sat up, though she grimaced as she did.

"That was…too close," Alex said.

"We need to get back," I decided.

Alex shook her head though. "I am _exhausted_. If I try shadow travel, I'm either going to run into a wall or end up in Korea."

I let out a long breath, trying to avoid getting frustrated. I knew what she was saying. "So, we're stuck. On the wrong end of the country. With a baby."

"I still know how to hotwire," Alex offered.

* * *

><p>What followed was a week of constant travel, scavenging for food, evading Embers, and sleeping huddled together in a car. Some would call it Hades on Earth, but…it had its moments.<p>

* * *

><p>It was our third night sleeping in a car Alex had hotwired off the side of the road. Fed, changed, and bundled in a heap of stolen blankets in the driver's seat of a Honda civic, our little straggler was <em>finally <em>sleeping soundly. Alex and I were sharing the passenger seat and body warmth, enjoying a moment of peace.

"What are you thinking?" Alex asked, breaking the silence.

"Hn?" I murmured.

"C'mon," Alex persisted. "You've been quiet since we finally put the kid to sleep. What's on your mind?"

"My mind is a very crowded place," I joked. "I don't think you want to know what's going on in there."

Alex gave me that look, where she cocked her head and raised an eyebrow as if to say _Try me,_ and I relented.

"I was just thinking…" I began. "Besides the fact that I've been washing and rewashing my jacket so a baby can use it as a diaper, and that I have to do all the scouting for food and patrols for Embers, _and_ that we're stuck in the middle of a country while the troops we're supposed to be leading are stuck on their own…I'm actually kind of…enjoying this. I know how crazy this sounds—"

"Me too," Alex whispered.

I stopped. "I'm sorry. What was that?"

Alex shook her head, laughing lightly at herself. "I don't know. I guess it's just, nice you know? No war responsibilities, no pressure. It's just me and you…and the rugrat. I just feel so…relaxed out here."

"We're traveling across the country in a hotwired car, scavenging for food and avoiding Embers at every turn, _while _trying to take care of a baby" I said dubiously, "and you're relaxed?"

Alex just smiled and leaned back into me. "Call me crazy," she whispered.

We were both tired, but even with sleep closing in I could feel heart speed up just a nudge. Alex grabbed my wrists and drew my arms around her until I got the hint and held her close, doing my best to keep us both warm. I'll be the first to admit it was working _very _well. Moonlight shining off her, a tired but content smile on her face, Alex was just _glowing_. Whatever deals or promises we'd made two years ago very abruptly went out the window, and our lips locked together.

A warming embrace turned into a passionate one. Alex ran her hands through my hair, pulling me as close as she could. Logic disappeared, along with just about every other coherent thought until we were suddenly interrupted by a baby crying.

Alex and I broke apart, probably just realizing what had just happened. For a bit, we were both speechless, until I finally managed to clear my throat.

"Uh…" I began. The inside of the car had suddenly gotten much, much hotter. "I'm…sorry."

"It…" Alex said as she stared at the dashboard, "it's uh…fine. Just um…I'd better get the kid…"

"Yeah, yeah," I readily agreed. Alex immediately climbed into the backseat to deal with the crying child in the heap of blankets, leaving me alone with my still scrambled thoughts. Two years, and I'd hardly thought about this.

As much as I'd dared to enjoy it, I just knew caving in was going to bite me in the butt.

* * *

><p>"Jacob?" a voice called. I could barely hear it. "You okay? Hello?"<p>

"Well played Fates," I muttered bitterly. "Well played."

_**003: Well this one took I awhile. Hopefully the length and Jalex (kinda) compensates. Anyway, this chapter I had to work hard at, mostly because I had to decide what to cut and what to keep/add. Next one should come much quicker, because I found the flowchart!**_

_**002: Ahem.**_

_**003: Okay, you found the flowchart.**_


	9. No Rest For the Wicked

Negotiations and meetings were the best distraction I could find from thinking about the med tent. It took about a week, but Alex was finally stable and recovering, taking the edge off the anxiety and frustration piled on top off me.

Now if only I could find a way to deal with the mountain of other problems I had to deal with. Supplies were okay for now, but it didn't take Cynthia to figure out if we took in one more group of refugees, we'd have a problem. Han and Tony were both already getting their groups ready to go out for another supply run.

They'd be gone for two weeks or so, alone in enemy infested territory with no back up and nothing but their wits and whatever they brought out with them. And they had to scavenge in every direction, bringing back food, water, weapons, and anything else useful. Clarisse had once led another supply group, but they'd disappeared after they gave their collected supplies to refugees and ran off to hold back an Ember attack. No one had any doubts about what happened.

The days ticked by, and I spent my time arguing with mortal leaders about tactics and casualties. More often than not, it would be them opposing one of my more callous plans. I didn't blame them. The strategist in weighed options and chose purely out of the greatest tactical gain, even if it meant sacrifice some people weren't comfortable with.

I'd actually had to circumvent the mortals a few times, slip orders past them, carry out plans without approval. It got people mad, it made me feel like I'd sold my soul for survival. It was also the main reason we were still in this fight.

At least I told myself that. I didn't really see any other way to look at it that would let me sleep at night.

Though sleep wasn't all that appealing these days either. I could close my eyes and see every face we'd lost, hear every tortured scream from the lives I'd personally forfeited. The nuke in Russia, the people trapped in London. Soldiers, civilians, _friends_. They were all there, burned into my mind. When I wasn't reliving the worst days of my life, Urunos would haunt my dreams. Promises to kill everything that lived, the feeling of his icy fingers worming their way into my head. I woke up in a cold sweat more often than not.

I _hated _this war. More than that, I hated being the guy in charge, forced to make decisions no one should. Who was I to decide the world needed two thousand soldiers over five thousands innocent bystanders? Why was it my call that one group of people got food and others starved?

I ran my hands through my hair, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders and wishing it would just crush me already. I let out a long, hot breath, trying to recollect myself, but I didn't do very good.

The plans for the offensive were getting to me. We'd reached the stage where I'd had to start telling people about the plan. Roxanne didn't have a problem with the plan per say, but she was shocked that _I'd_ been the one to come up with it. Cynthia had actually been appalled, threatened to resign and called me a monster before she calmed down, apologized, and quietly resumed her work. Henry continued to ask if there was any other way. If there was, I couldn't think of it.

No one really liked the plan, but some were more understanding than others. When I finally laid the plan out for Athena, she approved of the calculated move, though her dislike stemmed from the slim chance of success she believed it had.

I was still waiting to tell Alex. I was _not _looking forward to that conversation.

I was starting to second guess myself at every turn. Could this even work? Even if it could, was it worth it?

_Kid, do you know what time it is? _Miz asked. In my head, his voice sounded as if he was yawning.

"Can't sleep," I dismissed. "I still have to update the deployment map, send reports out to the other leaders, relay orders to the other commanders—"

_It is five a.m. _Miz interrupted. _You slept two days ago. For an hour. _

"I can sleep all I want, I won't get any rest," I argued.

_I'll bet you the apocalypse you're wrong. _Miz persisted. _Kid, you're not going to anything done right now. Get some sleep._

"Didn't know you cared," I prodded with a smirk.

_Don't be so full of yourself. I just don't want to be stuck as a pen for eternity after you die._

"Very funny," I muttered. "Fine. I'll lay down for a few hours."

I stumbled off to bed, and as much as I hated to admit it, Miz was right.I don't think I even hit the mattress before I fell asleep.

And then the next thing I felt was a punch in the face. I fell to the ground, stunned and confused. It was too dark to see, the world was spinning, my vision was fuzzy. I felt like screaming but couldn't find my voice. I wanted to stand, but my legs wouldn't respond. There was no sound, nothing to feel. Just emptiness.

I thought that was as confused and disoriented as I could get, until suddenly the world opened up in front of me. The air was hot and dry, to the point where it felt like breathing was burning the inside of my throat. Every step sent a jagged pain running up my leg, causing me to stumble and cry out with every lurch forward.

I was walking towards a tall, steep hill. At the top, I could see a pine tree standing tall next to the jagged stump of what had once been a second tree. Behind me, searing heat burned against my back. I checked over my shoulder, looking to see what I'd come from.

Behind me was a very serious car wreck, with the vehicle totaled and on fire. Black, acrid smoke billowed from it, and I violently coughed just looking at it. In the passenger seat of what had once been a car, amidst twisted metal and red splatters, I could make out a body. My stomach lurched, and I turned to keep walking.

My leg protested every inch, and I'm fairly certain ankles weren't meant to bend the way mine was. I kept going anyway to the base of the hill where my foot caught something and the pain finally brought me down to the ground.

It wasn't fair. I was so close to the top of the hill. I just knew if I made it up there, everything would be fine. I could make it. I _had _to make it. For me, and whoever had been in that car.

On hands and knees I pulled myself up the slope, dragging my bad leg behind me. Every time my bad foot bumped into something like a rock, I got a jab of pain that stopped me in my tracks and pulled another cry of pain from my lips. Still, I pulled myself further and further up the hill, until finally, after several agonizing minutes, I hit the top.

From there, I looked out over the most welcome sight in the world. A familiar valley stretched out in front of me, though I could hardly believe what I was seeing. A three story cottage, rows and rows of cabins, a lake…I was on top of Half-Blood Hill, staring down at the place I'd called home.

Camp Half-Blood. Good as new.

People were gathered at the base of the hill. Some of them looked old enough to be in college while others barely looked old enough to be in school. A few were dressed in battle armor, all of them were looking up at me with amazement and anticipation.

Someone pushed their way through to the front of the crowd; an old man dressed in old clothes, hunched over with a thick white beard and walking with the aid of a cane. Everyone stepped aside and gave him a wide berth to pass, and there wasn't a single person who didn't look afraid of this old geezer who stabbed his cane into the ground rather than planted it.

We locked eyes, me at the top of the hill, him down at the base. I saw something in those grey eyes. And not just experience, pain, or weariness. I saw flecks of green.

I woke up with a start in my cot in the command tent, heart pounding a million miles an hour. I cursed the stresses of war as I forced myself out of bed. I couldn't even take it easy when I was asleep now.

It took a few minutes to shake off the groggy feeling and find a clock. It was already seven o'clock. I wanted to go back to bed, seeing as I'd already slept through most of the day.

But duty calls.

_**This chapter exists for two reasons. One, to emphasize how much of a toll the war is taking on Jacob. And two, to hint at things to come.**_


	10. Guys Dig Battle Armor

_**No one has said anything about the cover…**_

Alex's POV

After a couple of weeks spent mostly in a bed, I was getting stir crazy. Sure, they let me walk around to make sure I didn't start wasting away, but never got more than thirty feet from my med cot. I wasn't even allowed to go to my own tent and sleep there. Twenty-four hour medical surveillance, all the medical rations I could stomach, and all the sleep I could stand.

If I didn't do _something_ soon, I was liable to hurt someone.

The burns and bruises were healing up, the stitches from the bullet wound were ready come out in a few more days, and I wasn't feeling lightheaded anymore, so I decided on my own I was fine enough to get out of there.

My battle gear and thrashed clothes had all been discarded, but someone had had the common sense to bring some replacement garments from my own tent. A pair of faded grey skinny jeans almost free of blood stains except for one on the left knee and a white tank top replaced my previously ruined armor and clothing. My black boots however, were nowhere to be found. Instead, I'd been making due with a pair borrowed from a soldier who—more or less—was the same size as me.

It was already getting late outside, so that meant the medics were gone save a single night nurse, and she'd stepped out to get fresh bandages. The med tent was surprisingly empty save for a couple of stragglers, all of whom were asleep and recovering well from lighter injuries.

No one would even know I'd snuck off.

I sat up in bed, feeling my still healing core protest every twitch of muscle along the way. Nevertheless, I managed to swing my legs off the bed and onto the ground. My legs gave for a second, but I managed to catch myself on the bedframe. I held myself up until my legs slowly got used to doing all the heavy lifting themselves, and then I cautiously released the bed.

My first step or so was a tad shaky, but a few strides later I was walking like a normal person once again. Walking to the exit of the med tent, I tried to decide where exactly I would go. Knowing Jacob, he'd try to convince me that I still needed rest, so dropping by him was no good. "Borrow" a car and go for a drive? Tempting, but as a Captain, I had to set a good example for the other soldiers. I was starting to entertain the idea of going to the armory to find a new replacement weapon when I opened up the tent flap and bumped right into someone.

All the strength I'd regained in my legs disappeared and I fell right back down again. The person I'd bumped faired a little better, staggering backward and dropping a small duffel bag they'd been carrying, but at least they kept their footing.

I landed hard on my butt as a shrill, British accent continually repeated. "I'm sorry! Oh, I'm so sorry!

I didn't recognize whoever I'd bumped into. She was young for sure, no taller than five feet even, dressed in a dark skirt, an unzipped tan jacket and a union jack t-shirt. Her hair was a curly dirty blonde that hung free from her head, cascading down to her shoulder blades. Gods, she would _not _stop apologizing.

"It's fine," I interrupted, putting up a hand to get her to stop. With a grunt of effort and another brief stab of pain in my stitches, I hauled myself to my feet as the girl grabbed her duffel bag from the floor.

"I'm so sorry," she said again anyway. "I just…you see I'm still sort of new to this place and I…don't quite know my way around just yet. I'm looking for the medical tent?"

"You've come to the right place," I assured her. "Someone you know inside?"

"Well, no," she explained. Or rather, tried to. "Well um, not really. You see I just...I'm looking for a Captain di Angelo. I was told I could find her here?"

"In the flesh," I said, gesturing to myself.

"What?" the girl asked, briefly puzzled. She squinted through the dim light of the setting sun, trying to place my face. Then it clicked for her. "Oh!"

Immediately she began running her free hand through her hair and trying to smooth out her skirt as if she was about to meet royalty. "I'm so _terribly _sorry about—"

I held up a hand to stop her. "It's _fine_," I stressed. "Just please, stop apologizing…I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Oh gods, I forgot to introduce myself!" the girl said, smacking herself in the head. "Erm, Campbell, Captain. Lydia Campbell, British intelligence. I'm…I guess you could say I'm a fan."

"Back up for just a second," I said. "You said British intelligence. How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen Captain. But Her Majesty has said I'm wise beyond my years," Lydia answered.

I raised an eyebrow and gave the young girl another look over as if I'd missed something threatening about her. What was in that duffel bag?

"You're thirteen, and you work for the British government?" I said, not buying it.

"Well, yes," she said, as if it should have been simple to understand. But then her gaze turned more solemn and her eyes traveled to look at the ground with regret. "Or rather I did… and then it was burned down."

"I'm… sorry," I said, trying to console her.

"I don't think you really could have done anything either way," Lydia dismissed. Her mood suddenly lightened. "We'll get him back for it of course. And that's what I'm here for! I brought you something!"

Immediately Lydia unzipped her duffel bag and began rummaging through it, sifting around its contents looking for something.

"Brought me something?" I said. I'd barely met this girl today, where was all this coming from?

"Well, I've been tracking your exploits for a while now. Well, not just me," she explained as she riffled through her bag. "You get around quite a bit too. I forget, was it _you _who sank that bridge…no, that can't be right… But anywho, I know who you are, what you can do, and how important to this whole war you are. When Henry brought me here from London I was actually looking forward to meeting you. I mean, the General as well of course, though he's never really been my area of expertise. Sorry, I'm getting off track… I'd wanted to introduce myself right away, but you came in critical and bleeding…"

Lydia must have found what she was looking for, because she briefly forgot what she was saying and beamed with pride down at something inside her bag. Meanwhile, I was trying to decode everything she'd just rambled off. And in all honesty, I wasn't making much progress.

"When you came in," she explained as she pulled a thick black garb out of the duffel bag, "I couldn't help but notice your uniform was, well…trashed. I hope you don't mind too terribly, but I took the liberty of fabricating a new one for you."

She held up the black garb for me to see. After a second, it registered to me what I was looking at. Lydia was holding a suit of Celestial Bronze flex-armor, the very same light, flexible style of armor Jacob's was, painted black. Lydia didn't stop there either. She went on to pull out a pair of matching bracers and new, armor reinforced black boots.

Lydia remained silent, smiling and waiting for a response. But I was still trying to some to terms with everything this thirteen year old girl from Britain had just spouted. In the space of five minutes, she'd bumped into me, told me she was with British intelligence, claimed to have been watching me, and now she hands me a shiny set of new armor?

"Oh no," she said, misinterpreting my silence. "You hate it, don't you?"

"No!" I said quickly. "No, it's amazing I just…"

I still couldn't believe who this girl was, until I remembered her saying something about Henry bringing her here from London. "Who are you again?"

"Lydia Campbell, British intelligence," she repeated. This time though, she added, "Daughter of Aphrodite."

"A daughter of Aphrodite who can forge armor?" I questioned.

"Designed really," she said. "I mean, I _can _forge armor and weapons just…well, I'm no child of Hephaestus. This set was made mostly by someone I met at the forge. Tall, one-eye, very kind, though not all too bright I don't think…"

"Tyson," I said. He was one of the few people still alive who knew how to make flex-armor. "He's smarter than he looks."

"So, you _do _like the armor then?" Lydia asked.

"I'd have to try it on," I said, looking it over. The armor all certainly _looked _nice, but looks didn't keep you safe on the battlefield.

"Really, you would?" Lydia asked enthusiastically.

"Wait, I never said—"

Lydia didn't wait for me to say anything else, she just handed me the armor set, grinning giddily. "Oh, you're going to love it! You can change inside the tent!"

And so I was shoved into the med tent once again, holding a shiny new set of armor with a little girl waiting outside for me to try it on.

A little reluctantly, and still not fully believing this was really happening, I donned the new armor over the clothes I was already wearing.

The black bracers wrapped around my forearms and even had leather extensions that guarded the back of my hands. Intricate silver engravings decorated the black surface, mostly simple, flowing lines that curled back and looped around the wrist.

The breastplate was without shoulder guards, leaving my shoulders and upper arms bare. Silver engravings were present on it as well, centered mostly on the breasts of the armor and coming down in a single central line to make a y-shape. The armor was form fitting, but it exaggerated my figure in some places, making my stomach look more tone than it really was among other…enhancements.

Twin, dulled gray belts wrapped around my waist, overlapping and serving as a border between the breastplate and the black battle skirt that extended down and stopped just above my knees. The skirt was armored of course, made out of metal strips joined by black leather.

The boots fit perfectly, with the toes and back of the heel both reinforced with light armor. Nothing mobility restricting, just something to make the usual wear and tear areas hold up a little better under stress.

It all fit perfectly, the weight was minimal for armor, I got to keep my full range of motion, it was a great set.

I exited the med tent clad in the new armor, and Lydia lit up.

"Oh my gods! It's perfect! You should definitely keep the pants on under the skirt, it goes perfect with the color scheme!" she squealed. "Oh, don't worry. I may pay attention to form, but I don't sacrifice an inch in function."

She pointed to the armor. "It's every bit as strong as what you used to wear, maybe even a little stronger. The bracers can withstand just as much punishment as your breastplate, give or take, and the hand guards prevent any nasty scrapes. The belts support any and all accessories you can loop them through. Binocular pouches, weapon sheaths...I'm rambling again aren't ?"

"Yes," I answered honestly. "But thank you. I really don't know what to say. I barely know you, and you're already giving me custom armor."

"You could tell me you love it," Lydia offered.

I raised an eyebrow, but smiled after a moment. "It's great."

I usually wasn't that big on prolonged conversation, _especially _with Aphrodite girls, but something about this girl was softening me up just a hair. IT might have had something to do with the fact that up until yesterday, I was sure all of Aphrodite's children were dead. I decided to throw her a bone, even if I might regret it later. I gestured to myself, and asked the one question that sane people _never _asked Aphrodite kids.

"So…how do I look?"

"You look fantastic!" Lydia said with a huge smile. "Gods, I knew I could make people look good in armor, but you're gorgeous!"

Before she could start on another rant though, her expression changed. "Wait…Captain…I was told I could find you in the medical tent…that you were still recovering…what are you doing out of bed?"

"I was about to ask the same thing."

Private Nick Bennett stood with his arms folded, leaning against a stack of medical supplies next to the tent. He was wearing camouflage fatigue pants and a light grey shirt. And he was supposed to be on restock duty for another two hours.

Over the course of my agonizingly long recovery period, I'd received many visitors. A lot of the troops from the 2nd, old friends like Henry or Roxanne. Jacob had stopped by a couple of times, though he'd looked extremely preoccupied whenever he'd been around of late. I'd actually gotten more visits from his secretary Cynthia.

But Bennett single-handedly stood out as the only person persistent and habitual enough to visit me every day, at the same time, fifteen minutes after he finished helping with distribution of supplies in the refugee camps south of base camp. Even brought flowers once, though I think my laughing at him for doing it was the reason for that not happening since.

"Bennett," I greeted awkwardly. "Hi."

"Captain," he returned, striding up to me. "Get an early discharge did we?"

"I _do _believe I'm supposed to be in my own quarters right about now. I think I'll just…" that was as far as Lydia got before speed walking away in the opposite direction.

He stopped a few feet in front of me, looking down at me from his six inch height advantage with his arms folded. "Last I checked you still had another week in medical."

"Last I checked," I shot back defiantly, "_I _was the one with the higher rank. I know when I'm ready to get back into the fight."

"Captain, you were in critical condition, and you're lucky to be alive," he reminded me. "Rest and recovery is the only thing you are ready to get back to."

"Aren't you on distribution duty?" I questioned.

"Snuck off early," he said flatly, eyes locked with mine. "Things were slow and the guys had things in hand. Figured I'd stop by."

"Shirking responsibilities now, are we Nick?" I taunted, cocking my head almost in a challenge.

"Bending the rules just a hair," he admitted, giving a smoldering look that said, _It's not _that _bad…_ I knew that look. I'd used it often enough. "And I come to find you sneaking out in some hot new armor."

"Hot armor?" I asked. "Private Bennett, are you _flirting _with me?"

"Flirting?" he said mockingly, as if that were the craziest thing he'd ever heard. "Captain I was _simply _stating facts. That armor was designed by a fashion demigod/British intelligence agent, it was most likely _designed _for stunning looks. I'm merely pointing out the designer accomplished their goal."

"Flirting with a superior officer could be considered fraternization," I reminded him, taking a step closer to him. "That's a direct violation of protocol, you are breaking all _kinds _of rules today."

"This from the patient disobeying doctor's orders," he retorted, taking a step in my direction and narrowing the gap between us just a little more.

"_Speaking _of," I said, stepping closer. "I _do _seem to remember you disobeying my orders when I told everyone to fall back to the vehicles."

"Yes," he said, edging further toward me. "That was when I saved your life."

I shook my head and uttered the famous _Tsk, tsk, tsk, _sound as I took another step toward him. We were less than a foot apart now. "Orders are orders Bennett. Ditching assignments, fraternization, disobeying orders, I think someone is long overdue for a court martial."

Bennett gave a half smile as he look down at me. "So court martial me."

And I did. Which is to say, I kissed him.

_**003: Okay, I have to know, how many people were reading this, saw this coming, and started yelling "NO!" at their computers. C'mon. I know there was at least one of you.**_

_**1136: You weren't hugged enough as a child. I'm calling it.**_


	11. Here Come the Folks

Alex's POV

It was wildly unprofessional, it went against a number of rules, it ran with huge risks to me, Bennett and the entire 2nd Allied Defense Force. It was impulsive, driven by hormones and frustration, and maybe even hypocritical considering some of the reasons I'd given for keeping things with Jacob at the friend level.

But Captain Di Angelo made out with one of her soldiers who was many, _many _ranks below her.

Thank gods no one was watching.

Eventually though, we both managed to come to our sense and broke apart, almost shoving each other away. I looked at Bennett's lips, than touched mine, then looked back at him. He was running a hand through his hair, letting out a long breath. He look flustered, and the heat in my face told me I probably did too. I just hoped it was dark enough for him to not see me blushing bright red.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "That was…completely unprofessional and…"

"Right," Bennett agreed. "That um…you are Captain and—"

"Exactly," I interrupted, trying to sweep this under the rug and at the same time knowing we couldn't. "So we should…"

"…yeah," Bennett said, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to avoid direct eye contact.

But then we locked eyes, and our gazes held for about a second before we practically lunged at each other. Our lips found each other again and somehow I ended up pressed against a stack of crates with my hands running through his hair and his holding me as close as humanly possible.

And then someone squealed.

Nick and I broke apart so fast I bumped my head on the crate I was up against. We went from no space between us to a good five feet. Lydia's head was peeking out from around the corner of the med tent, and she her huge grin scared me.

"Sorry!" she whispered, embarrassed, before darting away.

Getting caught managed to knock some sense into us, this time for good. Bennett, was kicking the dirt awkwardly, trying to figure out what to say. Meanwhile, I was trying to get my racing heartbeat under control and leaning against the crate for support because my legs were absolute jell-o. I swear to you, the temperature in the air had shot up a good ten degrees.

"That was it then," Bennett said.

"Yup," I agreed, still looking at the corner of the med tent where Lydia had been I could get the horrible feeling out of my head, of what if it had been someone else who'd seen us, like someone else from the 2nd, or Henry or Roxanne or gods forbid…what if Jacob had been standing there, had seen us?

I shook those thoughts out of my head, because they were literally paralyzing me. Bennett was looking up at the sky now, trying not to look directly at me.

"I should…" he began.

"Dismissed, Private," I said, though I may as well have been in another world I was so spaced out from what had just happened.

"Yes ma'am," he said, all soldier again. He turned and walked away, leaving me alone with my jell-o legs, blushing face, and head full of nightmare scenarios where any number of people had seen what had just happened.

I think I just stayed there for a while, leaning against a crate and trying to form coherent thoughts again. I wasn't having that much success.

"He seems nice."

My adrenaline was racing, my heart was pumping, and I very quickly got all feeling back in my legs. I practically jumped out of my skin when I heard someone behind me, and when I world around I got a very bad shock.

"Mom?" I said, horrified.

My mother, Thalia Grace di Angelo smiled. "Hi honey."

My mind was putting it all together, and I didn't like the picture that was forming. My _mother _had seen me…oh gods. I wanted to vomit. Instead, I fainted.

Laugh and you're dead.

I woke up in my own tent, my own cot, still in my armor. For a wonderful second, I dared to hope it had all been some kind of mix-mashed dream. And then I turned my head to see my parents with stools pulled up waiting patiently for me to wake up.

Styx.

Reluctantly, I sat up in bed.

"Mom? Dad?" I asked. "What are you guys _doing _here?"

My parents were two of the most powerful half-bloods alive, but they weren't commanding their own units. They operated as a deep scouting team, just the two of them, traveling the world, locating supplies, spying on the enemy. They'd stop by every now and again to check up on me, but they were busy people. Last time I'd seen them, they'd been headed to Italy.

"We just got the order a few days ago," my father explained. "Everyone who can is coming back. That includes us."

"Not happy to see us?" my mom joked.

"No!" I said. "I mean, it's great that you're here I just, you know, didn't expect—"

"That we'd walk in on you and your boyfriend?" my mom teased.

"Boyfriend?" my dad asked. "When did this happen?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Of course my mom hadn't. Dad tended to…overreact when it came to me and guys. Like, _really _overreact.

"When did this happen?" my dad questioned, directing it at both me and my mom.

"Guys!" I interrupted, blushing all over again. "Mom, he's not my boyfriend he just…"

"So, what's his name?" Mom asked.

"Where did you meet him?" my Dad asked skeptically.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I repeated, trying to get them to stop talking.

"Well then, who is he?" my mom asked. "Honey, you can't blame me for being curious about someone I saw you kiss the way you kissed him."

"Is this really necessary?" I asked. "Guys, I'm seventeen. I'm Captain of a military task force for gods' sakes, I can make my mine own decisions." Before my mom could say anything, I stressed. "He is _not _my boyfriend."

My mother held up her hands in defeat, though Dad still had a look of suspicion on his face. It took a little bit of back and forth, but I _finally _managed to get them to drop the Bennett subject. Slowly but surely I steered them toward other, less embarrassing topics. What had they been up to, how were things in the rest of the world, and things of that general nature.

We talked, we laughed, we hugged, we talked about getting me a new weapon, things that normal families that weren't fighting a war talked about. …I suppose normal could be a bit inaccurate. Well, you know what I mean.

As things started to wind down, Dad suddenly snapped his fingers. "Styx Thalia, we forgot!"

"Forgot what?" I asked.

"Alex do you know where Jacob is right now?" my father asked. He suddenly looked worried, and that was worrying me.

"In the command tent like always, why?" I asked.

My father stood up and my mother followed suit. "We've got something to tell him. It's about his parents."

_**Shorter than previous chapters, but it came a lot quicker. Besides, continuing would have required a change in POV.**_

_**Anyway…that's all for today folks.**_


	12. Jacob's Day OffCould Last Forever

_**Would have posted this sooner, but there's no internet three hundred feet below sea level. It's always that dang southern atlantic...**_

Jacob's POV

Waking up at seven p.m. wasn't the perfect way to start the working day, mainly because most people were _wrapping _up their business by then. By the time I'd managed to track down Cynthia to bring me up to speed, she was asleep in her cot in the demigod tent. Night operations were all running smoothly on their own, no need for my intervention.

So after about a half hour of trying to find something General-esque to do and failing, I was actually starting to feel…well, useless. The time for strategizing had passed, there was no battle I had to rush to go fight, no urgent business to attend to…I wasn't needed right then. I had…free time.

I probably spent the first ten minutes just wringing my hands coming to terms with that. I could do…whatever I wanted. No one needed me to be anywhere. It was so liberating, it was almost intimidating. It had been so long since I'd had a minute to myself, I didn't know _what _to do.

What did I used to do for fun again?

I walked around base camp for a while, almost feeling lost despite knowing the layout blindfolded and backwards, until I'd found myself in the military barracks area of camp, where the soldiers slept with their various units when not on duty.

Some people said hello, others saluted, and one younger looking female soldier gave me a highly unprofessional wink. But right then, I didn't want to be General Jackson, honored war hero and leader of Allied forces. I was clinging to this night off thing too much. No General Jackson didn't get nights off. But Jacob did.

So I focused on being Jacob, just your average every day hybrid demigod.

_You realize how ridiculous that sounds, right?_

With a talking sword.

My walk carried me on through the barracks area and past a truck, where a squad of soldiers dressed in off duty uniforms were loading up.

"C'mon Menchaca, I don't have all day," a young, handsome faced soldier sitting in the back of the truck yelled to one of his squad mates.

"What's the matter Bennett, got somewhere to be after this?" Menchaca asked as he climbed into the back of the truck along with Bennett and the other soldiers.

I chose then to step into the conversation. I felt like a little bit of an outsider, especially considering I was younger than all of these guys by at least three years.

Heads turned towards me, eyes widened, and several of the soldiers went rigid and saluted.

"General Jackson, sir!" one of them greeted, all professionalism.

"At ease," I said, and everyone relaxed as much as they could around the guy who was literally at the top of the command chain. "Where are you boys headed?"

"Re-stocking duty, sir," one of them explained. "The supply groups always need extra hands to help out with distributing supplies to refugees, organizing storehouses—"

"And generally lifting a bunch of heavy stuff," Menchaca added. "But Bennett here is in a real hurry to finish up early, aren't ya?"

"You had better pray the Embers get to you before I do Menchaca," Bennett threatened.

I took a good look at Bennett, and after a second his face clicked. He was the soldier from the med tent, the one who had donated blood to Alex when she'd been critical. He'd saved her life.

"Somewhere you'd rather be?" I asked Bennett.

Bennett shook his head. "Job comes first, sir."

It was my turn to shake my head. "C'mon, what's going on? Don't make me make it an order."

Bennett glanced back at his squad mates and gave them a warning glare before answering. "I have a friend back at the med tent…I usually visit them after the day's work."

"The kid's got a hot date and he didn't tell us?" Menchaca said incredulously. Bennett was giving him a death glare now. "Alright Bennett! Get some man!"

Bennett groaned as his squad cheered and slapped him on the back. I laughed, shaking my head. I saw that sheepish look on Bennett's face. So, he had someone special waiting in the med tent? This guy had saved Alex, so I my mind I owed him one. And besides, it's not like I had anything else to do today.

"Tell you what soldier," I offered. "Go visit whoever it is you have waiting for you in medical. I'll take your spot."

"Sir, I couldn't—"

"Okay, now I'm ordering you," I said, already taking off the jacket that was decorated with my various symbols of rank. "Go. Relax. And take this jacket back to the command tent on your way. I'd rather not draw to much attention to myself. Just one of the grunts tonight."

"You sure about that General? You might regret rolling on equal footing with us," Menchaca joked.

I tossed my jacket to Bennett, who looked more than a little surprised at the deal he'd just been handed. "Uh…thank you…sir."

I wondered how it felt to be Bennett. He looked younger than some of the other soldiers, but he still had to be at least eighteen. What was it like to call a teenager like me "sir"? I know I'd feel weird taking orders from a twelve year old.

"Dismissed Private," I said when he didn't immediately start walking.

"Get outta here Bennett," Menchaca told him. "Hey yo, Morales! Start the truck, time's a wasting!"

I jumped into the back of the truck, Bennett walked off in the direction of the med tent, and we were off.

Re-stocking work wasn't too bad. Just heavy. I even ran into Han, who was headed out with his group in search of more supplies. It was nice to be able to see him off. Hades, it was nice to be a normal person for a change. I was just one of the grunts, working, sweating, and wishing for better food like everybody else.

When we finally got a break in the work, we set up lunch in the bed of the truck, ate beans, shared drinks, and traded stories.

Eventually we ended up speculating how Bennett's evening was going. Guess ranged from him getting to third base to barely gearing up the nerve to shake his mystery girl's hand when he said goodbye, and all of them came off as a joke at his expense.

"So you guys have no idea who he's visiting?" I asked.

Menchaca shook his head. "Not a clue. Heck, 'til tonight we thought he was sneaking off to go—"

"What he means," someone else interrupted, "is we don't know."

Menchaca checked a watch on his wrist. "That's it for tonight boys. Let's all get on back to whatever hole we crawled out of."

The truck got started and a few short minutes later we were back at camp. I said goodnight to Bennett's squad and walked back to the command tent, feeling a lot better than I had in a long time. The command tent was empty and dark as expected, but I found my jacket hung on a chair by the map, a sure sign that Bennett had been here to take my jacket back.

I let out a long breath and sat down on my cot. Despite having only been awake for a couple of hours, I still felt tired enough to go back to sleep. Miz was right. I needed as much of it as I could get.

_Told ya. Nice thing you did by the way, helping someone else with the ladies while you get closer every day to dying alone. _

"Shut up Miz," I muttered.

_You ever get tired of saying that?_

"Do you ever get tired of being annoying?" I countered.

_Touche, Smart One. If you need me, you know where to look._ Miz shrank from a full sword into a much small silver click pen. It fell out of the sheath on my belt, which was designed to hold a sword, not a pen, and rolled underneath my cot. I didn't even bother picking it up, knowing it would be back in my pocket soon enough.

Before I could settle down for sleep though, I heard a voice outside call my name.

"Jacob? You in there?"

I knew that voice. You tend to remember the voice of someone who once joked about becoming your mother-in-law.

I hopped out of bed and smoothed out my wrinkled shirt, as if that could magically clean it after all the dirt that had gotten on it while I'd been out filling Bennett's shoes. I didn't even have to time to grab my jacket. "Come in."

Thalia di Angelo entered the command tent just as I flipped the switch on one of the electric lanterns. She looked around, viewing the utter chaos that was my workspace. She then turned her gaze back on me.

"Taking care of yourself?" she asked. That was when I felt a warning light go off in my brain. Thalia _hated _small talk. It ran in the family. If a di Angelo was using small talk, _something _ was off.

"Best I can," I said. "What is it?"

"Jacob, about your parents…" Thalia began, wringing her hands.

My blood probably froze. My parents were quite purposely stationed in the greater New York area, overseeing preparations and repairs in case the fight ever came to our last city. There was no fighting there, it was as safe as any place could be in this war.

I of course had fed both of them excuses to prevent them from noticing they'd been sidelined. Mom was one of the best architects alive, the ideal person to oversee construction of defensive fortifications. Dad was one of our best fighters and a respected hero, the best guy to serve as Camp Half-Blood's guardian while we were fighting a war.

They probably both knew why I had them assigned where they were.

But now, Thalia was saying…

"Gods," I said, feeling my whole world crashing down on me. "They…they're not—"

"No," Thalia assured. "They're alive it's just…they wanted to tell you this themselves."

Thalia handed me a golden drachma. "Talk to them. You haven't done that in too long."

She was right of course. My parents and I didn't talk nearly as often enough as we should have. I honestly didn't want to talk to them sometimes, so they wouldn't see what this war had made me become. Either one of them probably wouldn't hesitate to take my place, and either one would probably be accepted to.

Problem was, Mom was an ingenious tactician, and Dad was a powerful fighter. I was both of them, I was our best bet at winning this fight. Besides, both of my parents had held up the world when they were thirteen. I could handle it at fifteen with an army backing me up.

I took the drachma, wondering what I would say to my parents, but more importantly what it was they wanted to say to me. I thanked Thalia for passing on the message as she left, and reached into my pocket for Miz. One click later, and the three foot sword replaced the tiny pen.

_I'm up! I'm up! What is it this time? Demons? Gods? Traitors? Grocery store ladies?_

"I need to make a call," I told him.

_Styx. _Miz whined. _You know I hate being used as a cell phone._

"Get over it," I told him, stabbing him into the ground a few inches.

Mist began spraying from the sapphires embedded in Miz's blade, and I held the drachma ready.

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering," I said, and tossed the coin in. "Perseus Jackson, Camp Half-Blood."

And a moment later, I was looking at my dad through the IM. He was dressed in black denim pants and a white button-up shirt that looked like it had seen too many days since its last good wash, his hair was its usual mess, and his forehead was bandaged, but he looked fine.

"Jacob!" he greeted, surprised but definitely happy. "Gods, it's been way too long kiddo."

I took the "kiddo" in stride and grinned. It was just too easy to be happy with my dad around. I realized right then how much I missed him, and Mom.

"It's good to see you Dad," I said, gesturing to the IM. "Well, you know what I mean."

My dad laughed. "You still have a sense of humor? Thank Poseidon, there's hope for you yet when this is over."

That was dad, the optimist. But frankly, I could use a little optimism right now. He went deadly serious though afterward. "How you holding up son?"

"I'm doing fine Dad," I assured. "Still have all limbs, sanity more or less intact."

Dad gave me the look that said _You know that's not what I meant_, but he didn't say anything other than, "Good to hear. And everyone else?"

"Well, we all hate Urunos, and Roxanne has come up with some very creative things to do to him when we finally bring him down, but we're all still alive, thankfully," I said. I left out the Hunters from my summary. They were most certainly not okay, no matter which possibility you chose to believe. "Dad, Thalia said you and Mom wanted to tell me something. Is everything okay with you guys?"

Dad ran a hand through his hair. "Ah, right. That. Jacob, I was going to let your Mom tell you this—"

"She is better at talking than you," I joked, trying to keep things light even when I knew they were about to get heavy.

My dad gave a half-laugh. "Yeah… Jacob, I don't really think there's a right way to say this, but your mother's pregnant."

"W-what?" I asked. I really couldn't believe it. "That's…that's great! Right? Dad…?"

"Despite her claims, you mother cannot fight a war and carry a child at the same time," my Dad said. "She's going to be out of the fight very soon, and she'll be staying out for at least a few months."

"That's inconvenient, but what's the real problem here?" I asked.

"Jacob, the prophecy told of a child born out of a resurrection," my Dad said. "Our resurrection. Your birth. You were the child of the prophecy, the one who was either going to save us or get us all killed. It's one of the main reason the gods let you stay in charge, and it's also why several of the mortal leaders are still following you. But if word gets out that you might not be the child of the prophecy, that it might be your new sibling…Jacob, if you have enough enemies in high places, you could lose your command to the next most qualified person, especially if you give anyone a reason to think you're not the right man for the job. The mortals won't let a god be in charge, which means Athena couldn't step in. Your mother would be ruled out if they decided her hormones caused bad decision making…Jacob, if you lose command, there's no telling who'd end up with the job…or how well they'd be able to do it."

"So…what do we do?" I asked.

"Your mother and I will keep a lid on this, keep attention off of us. We both might disappear for a while," my Dad explained.

"And me?" I asked.

"Up on Olympus they already know about this," my Dad warned. "Nothing gets past Hera. Your job is to get to Olympus the first chance you get, and convince the gods that _you _are the child of the prophecy and our best shot at living through this war."

"And then?" I asked.

"Then you actually have to go out and _win this war_," my Dad finished.

I nodded, soaking up everything my Dad had said, absorbing it, analyzing it, and filing it away into a photographic memory. It was a simple, but effective plan, which was how I knew it was Dad's. Mom would have added at least three layers of subterfuge to root out anyone out to discredit me, save my job and give us a leg up in the war all in time for dinner.

"Alright," I said. "Convince the gods, win the war. I can do that," I assured. "So…new baby. How'd this happen?"

"I don't think you want all the details."

"Good point," I said quickly. "Any ideas on a name?"

"Your mother wants to name it Alchimede or Argos, depending on gender," my Dad said.

"Argos," I repeated. "Dad, please don't let Mom name my baby brother after Odysseus's dog."

We both laughed, then locked eyes in that way that let us say everything else we wanted to say. I'd felt close to my Dad, this moment was no different.

"Take care of yourself Jacob," my Dad said in goodbye. "I'm proud of you son."

The Iris Message shut down as we passed our hands through it simultaneously. "Bye Dad."

_**003: People have to be hating what I just did with Jacob and Bennett. Connect the dots, and you realize Jacob helped Bennett move in on Alex. I'm so evil.**_

**_Originally, I planned for Jacob to get drunk during this chapter and then Percy getting mad about that, and then the chapter as a whole taking a more depressing turn, but then it occurred to me alcohol abuse in minors was moving into an M rating, so that was cut and replaced with this._**

_**I'll be damned though, a fairly serious AN. Usually by now something bizarre has happened that-**_

_**1136: 002 bought a pregnancy test.**_

_**003: ...**_

_**1136: 003? Hello?**_

_**003: ...**_

**_1136: Oh crap. I broke him._**


	13. The Worst of Times

_**003:…**_

_**002: Hello? 003? Why is he like this? He hasn't moved from that computer in days. And he's barely even typing anything.**_

_**1136: I have no idea.**_

_**002: What did you do now?**_

_**1136: Oh sure. It's automatically MY fault.**_

Alex's POV

A day and a half later I was back on my feet for good, and resuming my normal duties. I felt great too. Medics might even clear me by the end of the week. As much as I owed people like them for keeping me in one piece, I was not going to let the threat of ripping open stitches keep me out of commission.

Things were slow at base camp, where everyone sat around waiting for the last of our forces to make it back. After two years of almost non-stop fighting, it was almost uncomfortable to just stand around day in and day out, licking our wounds and kicking our heels while we prepare for…who knows. I still didn't know why Jacob was pulling everyone in.

Though, I'd only found out he'd pulled everyone back a few hours ago, in all honesty. Bad communications equipment and bed rest had kept me out of the loop for too long. Everyone I'd asked had their theories.

Bennett of course maintained his belief that Urunos was going to be striking his last blow and Jacob was gearing up for the best last stand we could muster. Call me a pessimist, but that sounded pretty likely to me.

Bennett. At some point he and I were really going to have to work out exactly what to do about…well, us. It had been an extremely awkward conversation when he'd tracked me down to tell me about the officer meeting later today, and then explain everything else I'd missed. This was ruining unit dynamics just as much as a potential relationship could, maybe worse.

But that problem was going to have to wait. Jacob had something he wanted to discuss with all the officers who'd already made it back, and since I was up and moving again, that included me.

By the time I got to the command tent, everyone else was already there, gathered more or less around the map table. Jacob of course stood at the end, hands spread out over the map and discussing something with one of the mortal officers and Cynthia. Henry had pulled up an empty water jug and was sitting on it, feet kicked out and looking utterly relaxed. Roxanne was leaning against a small end table by Jacob's cot, sharpening a combat knife that made a butcher knife look like safety razor.

Tony and Han were both talking off to the side, most likely arguing about who's scouting unit was better. Rick was showing off, lifting up a heavy ammo crate while the new girl Lydia sat on top of it, laughing giddily while begging to be put down.

"I miss anything?" I asked.

Jacob looked up from his discussion. "Alex! Ah, no. We haven't actually started yet."

"You guys didn't have to wait for me," I said.

"We weren't," Roxanne was quick to say. "You're mommy and daddy are the ones we're waiting on. You can go back to bed."

"I don't think you want to start this again," I warned her, my hand going to my hip even though there wasn't a weapon there beyond Bennett's knife.

"Okay!" Henry interrupted. "You're both awesome, you both think your better than the other, can we _not _start this again? My ribs still hurt from last time."

Roxanne and I exchanged a mutual glare, but calmed down. She went back to sharpening her knife, albeit much more angrily than before and mumbling a slew of words I probably can't repeat.

Jacob seemed to finish what he was talking about, because the he shook hands with the mortal officer who then left the tent. He walked over, giving me a tired but genuine smile.

"Good to see you on your feet again," he greeted.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew when James was going to clear me," I told him with a sly smile. He just sighed and shook his head.

"In that case don't tell me," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I could bash Urunos's face in with a spoon," I assured him. "Speaking of which, I'm kind of unarmed again."

Jacob shook his head, laughing. "Say no more. I'll find something in the armory you can work with."

Almost reflexively, I gave him that smile I reserved only for him. "You're the best."

It was the closest I would ever come to flirting with Jacob. Just like always, we both laughed at me trying to be sweet and innocent, but this time I felt a pang of guilt once reality set in. I remembered Bennett, and suddenly I felt guilty in both directions.

_I shouldn't have done that…_

It hit me then that this whole Bennett issue had a whole extra layer to it. And that layer had grey-green eyes and an enchanted sword. Forget what I would do about me and Bennett, what was I going to do about me and _Jacob_? On one hand—

Styx. Was I actually comparing my romantic options in the middle of the biggest war in the history of…forever? No. I was not some love-struck Aphrodite girl. This whole inconvenient love triangle was just going to have to wait until the threat of death wasn't looming over all our heads. That was my ruling with Jacob, it was my ruling with Bennett. End of discussion, case closed, emotion department is closed.

Thankfully, my parents showed up for something else could send me down a guilt trip. They apologized for being late, Jacob said it was fine, and we got down to business.

"Cynthia, it's clear outside?" Jacob asked.

Cynthia came back in, letting the tent flaps fall closed behind her. "We're all clear boss. I can stand guard if you need me to."

"I think we're good," Jacob assured her. He turned back to us. "What I'm about to tell all of you, is not to leave this tent."

Less than a minute in and my curiosity was aroused. Jacob was not the triple-top secret, get killed for knowing any secrets you shouldn't type of leader. If he had a plan, he usually told you. When he didn't, it was one of two reasons. Either he thought his plan had a high probability of getting everyone killed…or he didn't like it.

"For the entirety of this war we have been either on the defensive or on the run," Jacob began. "It's kept us alive, but it's not going to stop Urunos. I've tried to wait for a gap in the fighting, when us pulling out wouldn't abandon others who need us, but we're running out of time. So the once the last of our troops have returned and been refitted…we're taking the fight to Urunos."

I didn't believe, and I was watching the words coming out of Jacob's mouth. We were going to attack Urunos with everything we had…one last shot… At first, I actually got excited, glad we were finally done running. We were going to attack. Then reality hit me like a sack bricks. We were going to _attack_. This was Urunos, who fought off the Olympian council, who went blow for blow with the Lord of Time, who healed as almost as fast as you could hurt him.

Let's not forget a horde of Embers capable of blocking out the sun.

"That's—" my dad began.

"Suicide," I finished. "Jacob are you nuts? The Embers would wipe us out before we got to take a single shot at Urunos."

Jacob's face darkened, his jaw tightened, and his gaze refused to meet mine. My heart almost stopped, because I knew that look. He got that look very, very rarely, anger and shame mixed with sheer determination. When Jacob got that look on his face, when he couldn't look me in the eye, things were very, very bad.

"The Embers are going to be a little busy. Maybe not for long, but it'll give us the window we need," Jacob said.

I looked around the tent, expecting to see everyone else just as scared and shocked as I was, but except for my parents and Lydia, everyone just shook their heads like they were being reminded they were grounded. That was the first dead giveaway that I was much more out of the loop than I thought.

"How are the Embers going to be busy?" I asked. I almost didn't want the answer, but I had to know. Everyone who did was looking like they didn't like it. Jacob didn't answer immediately either. "Jacob? What's the plan here."

"Out in other parts of the world there are still a lot of survivors. People who made it through the first assault and went into deep hiding. Deep enough to stay alive. They're out there now, resisting, doing what damage they can, but until now they've barely been on Urunos's radar."

"Why until now?" Lydia asked for me. She was starting to sound very worried.

"We've…" Jacob began. You could tell just by looking at him he wanted an arrow between his eyes. "we've been supplying the major groups with whatever supplies we can spare. Food, weapons, tactics…we've been making them dangerous. We give the order, they'll hit Embers with everything they've got in every major hot spot. Moscow, Berlin, London—"

"You're using them as bait!" Lydia screamed. "The Embers will all go flocking after them and leave Urunos…support or no support they couldn't possibly survive that kind of counter attack. They'd be slaughtered!"

"And we'd have the time we need to hit Urunos with everything we have left," Jacob said. "We could end this."

"And sacrifice all those people?" Lydia yelled. "Are you stark raving _mad_?"

"Jacob, this is insane," I agreed. "You can't play god, deciding who's expendable. We can't just—"

"What choice do we have?" Jacob yelled back suddenly. "You think it's easy making this call? It's not! But it's all we've got left!"

Everyone in the room went quiet. My jaw actually slackened, because Jacob was looking at me, and he was _furious._ I was looking at him, and in that moment all I saw was anger, stress, fear. I didn't see Jacob. All I saw was General Jackson. And he made me sick.

"Who are you?" I asked. I turned my back on him, looking towards the tent flap and blinking back tears.

"Alex...Alex I'm sorry."

I ignored that voice as best I could. The person it was supposed to belong to was dead. Instead of responding, I stormed out of the command tent, blinking back tears.

"Alex!"

I didn't once look back.

_**002: 003 talk to me. Say something. Make some obscure video game reference. Anything! Move at least.**_

_**003: …002, are you—**_

_***explosion***_


	14. Time Apart

_**003: Hey, I found internet.**_

_**1136: What? How? You DO know we're in— *hit by 002's boot* Ow! Whose idea was it to go on a road trip with a pregnant lady?**_

_**002: It's not a road trip if we've been WALKING THE ENTIRE TIME! And don't forget, YOU were the one who crashed the plane! *throws other boot***_

_**1136: Hey, it'll make a good story for FictionPress, right? *smacked by 002* CUT IT OUT! *smacked***_

Jacob's POV

She just walked out of the tent, not even looking back. I wanted to run after her, but for some reason me shoes felt full of cement. The way she looked at me, like I was some kind of monster, had rooted me to the spot. I couldn't move. I could only watch her storm out, could only feel a stab of pain as the tent flapped shut behind her.

"Alex…" I whispered, so quiet I barely heard it.

Everything went dead silent then. I didn't want to, but I looked at everyone around me, gauging their reactions. Roxanne had a raised eyebrow, as if events had finally gotten interesting for her. Henry was biting his lower lip and giving me a look of pity, Lydia was still looking at me with a mix of shock and disgust.

And then, like a switch was flipped, I could suddenly move again. "Alex!"

I practically ran out of the tent after her, but by the time I was outside she was already a ways off. I chased after her, and when she heard me coming she picked up her own pace. I had to grab her arm, because she wasn't going to turn around on her.

"Alex, I'm sorry—" I tried.

She whirled around, and I saw tears streaming down her face. She looked like she wanted to be angry at me, but instead all that was coming but was remorse and disgust.

"Sorry?" she spat. "You're _sorry_? You turn into a murderer, and you think you can just say _sorry?_ Don't apologize to me, apologize to all the people your plan is going to _kill_!"

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, to try an explain, to beg for her to see things the way I was forced to. But I choked on whatever words were forming, and Alex wasn't in the mood to patiently wait for an answer.

"No, don't even try it," she said. Anger was very clearly taking the place of the tears now. "There is nothing you can say that justifies this. I don't care if you call it sacrifice or acceptable losses, or whatever else you think you can say to make this okay. You are using those people. Killing them. And you don't even have the decency to tell them. With all due respect, _General_, I hate you."

I'd like to be able to say I was calm, that I accepted the way Alex saw things, understood her point of view, and tried calm reasoning. But it didn't work like that. This was Alex, the one person on the whole planet I cared about more than anything, and she was looking at me like a monster that was overdue for a lightning strike. It stung, it felt like a betrayl. And on top of that…it made me mad.

"I don't care," I blurted out. The moment I'd said it, I instantly regretted it, but by then my mouth was moving faster than my brain could stop it. "Don't you get it Alex? This isn't about what you, or what anyone else thinks of me. This is about stopping Urunos, and making sure that at least _some _people will be left standing when this is over. If I have to sacrifice other to get that done, if I have to die as a monster in everyone's eyes, if I have to _burn_ in the Fields of Punishment for the rest of the eternity that I helped save, I will do it. This is war, di Angelo. Losing is not an option, so I don't much care what it takes."

Gods, I'd just yelled at her using her last name. Everything I'd just said, I didn't mean it. Not like that. Yes, if sacrificing myself was what it took I'd do it without a second thought. I wasn't in this to be everyone's hero, but that didn't mean I wanted to make everyone to hate me. I was tired, I was worried, I was _afraid_... I was in a very low place and everything had just…spilled out.

Of course, I didn't really get a chance to explain any of that to Alex. She was nothing short of controlled fury, and if looks could kill, then the Allies would have been under new management.

"I would rather _die_ than survive in a world that I made other people pay for," Alex said. "I'm done."

She turned her back on me again, her movements punctuated by a loud thunder clap and deep rumble that shook the ground. I couldn't just let her leave like that, despite it being very clear she did not want to talk over this any further. I didn't care, I went against logic. I couldn't leave things like this.

I grabbed her shoulder just before she could get out of arm's reach. "Alex-"

"Leave me alone!" she yelled, wrenching her shoulder free.

She shoved me as hard as she could, but that wasn't the worst of it. The second her hands hit me, a charge of black lightning lashed out from her body, and sent me flying backward, hair singed and clothes smoking. I ended up on my back a good fifteen feet away, coughing and groaning in pain.

Alex's expression changed completely. Anger was replaced with surprise and worry for just a second. She looked like she wanted to apologize, but before she did she turned and ran. I was in too much pain to anything other than groan and let my head go limp.

I swear I only laid there a few seconds, but a couple of blinks later the sky went from orange of dusk to pitch black, stars hidden by angry clouds. And it was raining.

"That was quite entertaining," a deep baritone chuckled. Chills ran down my spine when I heard that voice. I _hated _that voice.

Still in pain but not about to encounter anyone lying in the dirt, I forced myself onto my feet and gave Kronos my best glare. The aches and pains of being struck by lightning were a lot lesser now, like I'd had time to recover. A lot of time.

"How long was I there?" I asked him. It wasn't above the Lord of Time to make a week feel like a few seconds.

"Only a few hours," Kronos assured me, though I didn't trust a word he said. Kronos hadn't changed a bit from when the Battle of Camp Half-Blood two years ago, except maybe for the fact that he'd grown even harder to tolerate. "Much as I would have liked to let you waste thirty years lying around moping—"

"Yeah, yeah, you need me," I muttered, still sullen over what had happened (at least for me) a few seconds ago.

"Actually, I could care less about you. I'm just here to clear your schedule. Couldn't have you chasing after some girl when you've got business to get to," Kronos explained dismissively.

"What did you do to Alex?" I demanded, hand immediately going for Miz. But before I could touch the hilt, everything started moving very slowly. I felt like I was trying to move in a vat of super glue.

"Relax," Kronos droned. "With you here all night, she got a few hours away from you, like she wanted. And now—"

"It's time for you to get going," a new voice interrupted.

Hermes was waiting patiently, looking as polite as someone in full battle armor could. The messenger of the gods was a busy guy. If he was here, for _me_…I was in for something. My dad's warning about Olympus doubting me came back to my mind, and I had a sudden idea of what this was about. Tearing Kronos a new would have to wait.

_**003: Don't worry guys, we may be stranded in the middle of nowhere and our house may have gotten blown up since we last talked, but we'll get back on our feet and chapters will start getting cranked out once again. **_

_**002: Are you using the computer? HEY! All of you! Tell my husband we are NOT naming the baby 023. It's a terrible number.**_


	15. Two Week Notice

**_1136: I never though I'd be so happy to see a waterfall. Check it out guys, we made the US/Canadian border! Niagara Falls! ...Guys? ...002? ...003? Hello?_**

After spending so long on the front lines or huddled in the tents of makeshift camps that were ready to move at a moment's notice, I was actually surprised by how nice Olympus still looked. Of course, it hadn't really seen any fighting, and it was sort of maintained by magic. Magic grounds keeping usually won out over scrap detail dished out to soldiers who needed a quick punishment.

As soon as we arrived, Kronos held out his wrists for Hermes like he was going through his boring morning routine, and Hermes slapped on a pair of bronze shackles before leading him forward. Kronos kept a casual, almost amused look about him the entire time we walked, even as everyone who saw either threw rocks or ran and hid.

I already knew why I was at Olympus, and I had a feeling Hermes knew that I knew. Needless to say it was an awkwardly silent walk, with Kronos acting like the only person who wanted to be there.

So, the gods knew my mom was pregnant and that I might not be the prophecy kid after all. That meant I was no one special, just a Hybrid demigod who'd let the_ hubris_ go to his head and who was playing god by sending people to their deaths on a daily basis, without ever producing any real results beyond running away and losing more land.

And all I had to do was convince them that I was in fact the guy who was either going to save us all. Or maybe get us all killed. Prophecies are ambiguous.

I wanted nothing more than to get it over with, but for some reason the walk to the throne room where the Olympians were waiting to chew me out was taking even longer than seemed physically possible. It left me with way too much time to think.

My brain was one of my biggest advantages, but I _hated _thinking. There was too much I didn't want to think about.

Taking up a giant chunk of my brain were the million and a quarter different scenarios in which things went from bad to total Minotaur dung because someone else was trying to command a planet worth of armies.

Then there was the sea of faces seared into my brain, every name I'd ever left to die or ordered into a suicide mission. Everyone I couldn't save or who'd died saving me. I really tried to get my mind off of that whole subject, because already I could feel it weighing me down, reminding me of just how alone I was now.

I didn't even have friends anymore, not after everything I'd put them through, after the things they'd seen me do, or approve. Even Alex…

Alex didn't cry. She wasn't supposed to cry. But she had, while looking me dead in the eye and telling me that she hated me, right before she struck me with lightning and stormed off.

If I didn't even have her getting my back, I really was going it on my own.

2 billion people left alive on the planet, maybe less. I had to somehow save as many of them as I could. I had to stop Urunos, I had hold back the Embers, I…

I couldn't do it, could I? What if I was just a toddler splashing against a river current just before a waterfall, trying to make progress when it was painfully obvious I couldn't and a final drop was just behind me. What if…

"Well?" a deep baritone voice boomed.

I blinked. I wasn't walking through the streets of Olympus anymore. I was kneeling in the throne room, surrounded by some of the most powerful people currently in existence. And they were expecting an answer for something.

I just had no idea what. A sudden surge of terror took hold, wrapping its hands tight around my throat and stopping any words or thoughts I might have had. Where'd all that time gone? One second I'd been walking with so long to go I had time to mope, the next…

"…what?" I managed to get out.

Apollo gave a nervous laugh, only to be elbowed to silence by Artemis, and then things got deathly quiet again. I wasn't even sure which god was talking to me.

"I asked," Zeus, who looked like he really wanted to at least hit me with something heavy, repeated, "Why should we trust you? Athena has informed me of your plans. She seems to approve, but she also thinks it's a clear sign you're not yourself. Death tolls for your armies are higher than ever, and now the news of your mother."

"Annabeth's unborn child could well be the actual child of the prophecy," Hera stated. "In which case Jacob would have no business leading our forces, or the mortals', though I suppose that decision is up to them."

I resisted the urge to be a complete smart ass, because if there was one thing my mother had drilled into me it was that you didn't go around making gods feel stupid unless you wanted to end up a smoldering pile of dolphin ashes.

Thankfully though, I wasn't the only person in the room with a shred of common sense. Athena stepped in just as other gods were muttering agreement with Hera.

"So you're suggesting we pull support of Jacob, and put our faith into an infant who hasn't even been born yet? Hera, by the time the child could be old enough to do anything, we very well could have run out of time. Jacob is still our best bet, not Annabeth's latest conception."

Best grandma ever.

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that Jackson is slipping," Hades stepped in. "He's dangerously unstable, and if his latest suicide mission plans aren't enough proof…"

Hades glanced over at Aphrodite, who'd been busy doing her nails up until that point. "Hm? Oh, that's my cue!"

Reaching into a purse sitting next to her throne, she drew out one of the fanciest, most expensive looking perfume spritzer I'd ever seen, which looked absolutely ridiculous to a guy who'd spent the last two years fighting the apocalypse. Nevertheless, Aphrodite squeezed out a single, misty pink cloud, which drifted into the center of the room and stayed there as images started to swirl inside of it.

I actually cringed when I saw the image start to take shape. It was me. My clothes were a mess, my face was dirty, and I had the most exhausted, angry look on my face.

"_If I have to sacrifice other to get that done, if I have to die as a monster in everyone's eyes, if I have to burn in the Fields of Punishment for the rest of the eternity that I helped save, I will do it. This is war, di Angelo. Losing is not an option, so I don't much care what it takes," _pink mist-me seethed.

So that's how bad it looked to the rest of the world. I was starting to see Alex's reasons for blasting me onto my butt.

Alex entered the pink mist image now too, and I watched our entire argument from the point on, reliving every word, every stupid thing I'd said out of stress and frustration, but now that it wasn't the heat of the moment, and now that I had a third party view of just how giant of a jerk I was, it hurt even worse.

Eventually, I watched Alex zap me to the ground with a single bolt of black lightning, and then I just watched myself lay there. The image went into fast motion. All around me the world was zipping around, but still I just laid there, looking up at the sky until the sun was gone. I still remembered laying there for barely a couple of seconds, but apparently I'd just lied around for hours.

The worst part of that was, I didn't feel one bit rested.

If anything I was tired, and frustrated, and as I looked around a throne room filled with disapproving head shakes, I also realized I could be in deep Centaur poop. The pink mist of Aphrodite's perfume disappeared, leaving nothing but the smell of roses mixed with ozone.

When Hades went out on a vengeful grandpa attack, he played dirty.

The throne room was quiet for a bit until finally Zeus spoke.

"Dionysus," he said. It was just one word, but the wine god seemed to understand what was ebing asked of him.

"A half decent push would send him into permanent state of paranoia, and without sleep he's a day and a half away from stark raving mad. But no, close as he may be getting Johnny is still sane. Ish," was the closest I got to a vote of confidence.

"I'm not crazy," I spoke up reflexively.

Zeus looked about ready to send me back to the ground the entertaining way, but for whatever reason he restrained himself. "You're dismissed, Jackson. Remain here on Olympus. When we reach our decision, we will call you back."

"But I need to get back," I said. "The offensive—"

"Is still in prep," Zeus interrupted. "Leave us."

I had to bite back protest. "Yes, Lord Zeus."

Feeling worse by the minute I left the throne room, and then the next thing I was aware of I was at the bridge that linked Olympus with the elevator to the Empire State building. It was a decent distance to cover, but I couldn't remember taking a step of it.

"Disorienting, isn't it?" a voice taunted.

Kronos was rubbing it in that he could mess with my perception of time, but now it was going too far. He already made me look like an idiot in front of the Olympians, and left me flat on my back for a few hours, wasting precious daylight that had a billion other possible uses.

"And it's so simple too," he added, striding up to stand next to me. I wanted to strangle him, but for some reason my hands remained at my sides, my gaze remained fixed on the bridge in front of me. "You know, the offensive is the least of your worries."

He said it like a threat, and I willed my body to draw Miz on the spot. But still I didn't move. Nevertheless I was still able to get speak.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyes never leaving the bridge.

"You know what, forget I mentioned it," Kronos dismissed. "It's none of your concern really, and Zeus did tell you to stay on Olympus."

"What. Did you. Mean?" I repeated very carefully.

Kronos may have been sworn to play by the Olympians rules for the duration of the war, but I wasn't too sure how exactly those rules applied in regards to me. The Titan King was a scheming, conniving son of an ancient sky god, and he made a habit of infuriating me and rubbing in that my parents had brought him back, but as annoying as he was I had to remember he was more than that. He was dangerous.

"I think it would be easier to show you," Kronos said.

He extended his hand out in front of me, and a cloud of black smoke slowly began to fan out from it. Then, like a black, sickly, diluted Iris-Message, I saw my dad.

Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, was holding up his sword in surrender Embers surged forward, taking his weapon from him while others held back my still struggling mother. I couldn't tell where they were exactly from the scenery behind them, but it didn't look like Camp Half-Blood.

"Where is this?" I demanded.

"When is a better question," Kronos said. "This hasn't happened yet. Oh but it will. And watch. This is the best part."

Uncle Grover very suddenly stumbled onto the scene, looking defiant and terrified at the same time. A new figure stalked into the scene, and everyone, even the Embers froze. I recognized that face instantly.

Evan Nakamura, still possessed by Urunos, still the evil anti-me, and still a giant pain in the neck.

The smoke screen abruptly vanished, Kronos retreated, and I could move again. "But, like I said, Zeus told you to stay here and—"

"Where are they?" I demanded.

Kronos gave a fiendish smile, and I knew I'd been suckered right into some kind of trap, though I wasn't sure what just yet. "Montauk beach."

_**1136: You're shirts on backwards.**_

_**003: Is it?**_

_**1136: And you're hairs a mess.**_

_**002: Hadn't notice.**_

_**1136: Ugh. Married people. Ahem. Will Percy and Annabeth be okay? Will Jacob do something stupid like disobey a god to save his parents? And just what would it take to make Jacob finally snap? Tune in next time to find out!**_


	16. Behind That Tired Smile

_**003: Hey guys. Been a LONG while hasn't it? But in between walking from Canada to the US, finding a new place to live and dealing with…well you know, everything that you have to deal with when you're wife is pregnant…this has been a slow time coming. It's also more than double the length of your typical chapter, because I wound up coiling three boxes on the flowchart into this one chapter.**_

_**1136: You also forgot to mention the fact that we're currently "living" in someone else's home right now. While 002 raids their fridge.**_

_**002: Hey! Eating for two here!**_

Alex's POV

I didn't know what to expect after zapping Jacob. I hadn't meant to, but it was the heat of the moment, and I was angry, and the next thing I knew I just as easily could have killed someone who ten minutes ago had been my best friend.

I'd stayed just long enough to see his chest rise and fall once to know he was still alive, and then I left. I wasn't really even sure where I was taking off to, just that I had to put some distance between me and Jacob, or someone was liable to get hurt.

I wandered around the camp, not even noticing the salutes or greetings as I passed friends and subordinates. I was angry, disgusted at how horribly warped Jacob's mind had to have become for it to come to this, sacrificing people whose only crime was surviving the destruction of their home, how he'd become a leader and suddenly decided that meant he was a god, how he'd snapped at me, like I was just some other soldier. The more I thought about it, the more tempted I was to turn back around and finish frying him with a lightning storm.

But even still… part of me clung to the Jacob I knew. Smart and stupid, all at the same time. Brave, loyal to a fault, caring. I couldn't help but remember the Jacob I'd grown up with…the one I'd fallen for.

I mean, it wasn't like this was the first time people had been sacrificed. What made this one so different?

Because it was intentional, I reminded myself. Because it was desperate civilians and not soldiers who'd enlisted knowing they'd probably die, and because Jacob was purposely deceiving them into thinking they were safe. Being unable to help a city because all your forces were in other cities was one thing. This was a giant stab in the back to people who probably thought of themselves as the lucky ones for not getting crushed under the horde.

I guess my feet moved on faster than my brain did, because by the time I finally managed to push Jacob out of my brain (which took until after sunset) I was standing at the armory. I did still need a new weapon, and frankly I could use the distraction.

The armory was actually a collection of tents and makeshift buildings, once simply haphazardly filled with whatever weapons and ammo could be found and now meticulously organized thanks largely to the efforts of Cynthia.

Tents to the left held ammunition of every shape and size for every ranged weapon we had at our disposal, guns and bows alike. Made of slapped together plywood and sheet metal were the series of sheds where explosives were stored. But taking up the center of the area like a centerpiece at a dinner table was one of the biggest buildings in the Allied camp, where every weapon we had was sitting waiting, neatly arranged and shelves and racks. Swords, spears, daggers, rifles, bows…everything that we weren't using right then.

I stepped in, pulling the sliding wooden door shut behind me, and suddenly I was stumped on what to choose.

I walked right past the firearms, because no matter how much they turned on Roxanne they were not at all my style, not to mention despite having been surrounded by them for two years I had at best a basic idea of how to not accidentally shoot myself.

Spears were a little bit more intriguing. Not necessarily my thing, but still viable enough for me to pick one up off a rack and do a few practice thrusts in the air. Sadly, I couldn't find anything that felt right in my hands, and I moved on.

I stopped at the table where daggers were laid out for about five seconds, and then decided they were way too small.

I kicked around the idea of maybe using a bow, but I didn't like the thought of running out of arrows just when I most needed more, and so I ended up moving on.

That was when I ran into Lydia and Cynthia, who were both at the sword racks. Lydia was paying rapt attention as Cynthia held up a simple, three foot long blade and rambled off some form of facts or advice about the recommended style for fighting with the weapon when they both noticed me.

"Oh, Captain di Angelo!" Lydia gasped, like I was some kind of celebrity. Immediately she set about smoothing out her skirt and running her hands through her hair.

"Alex," Cynthia greeted more level-headedly, "what are you doing here?"

"Looking for something with a little more killing power than the fork I used to eat lunch with," I said, which was true in part, even though if I honestly I was just avoiding Jacob. "And…you two?"

"Oh, well I was just talking Henry earlier, and he asked if I had a weapon," Lydia rapidly began to explain, nervously running her hand through her hair, "I told him I didn't, because well, I didn't. Lost the bloody thing back in Birmingham when… anyway, I didn't have one, and so he said I should pick something up from the armory and I said I don't where that is and that's when Cynthia offered—"

"We're picking her out a weapon," Cynthia explained much more pointedly. "Swords are a good baseline, so we started here."

"I see," I said. "Any luck finding a match?"

"Well, I don't really know, see—" Lydia began again.

"None so far," Cynthia finished before Lydia could even get started again. "She's not really sure what to go with."

Lydia gave Cynthia a slight glare, like she was annoyed at having some speak for her. Frankly, I was glad. In the few times I'd talked to Lydia, I'd picked up that her mouth didn't really have an off switch.

"Well, how do you like to fight?" I asked her, just trying to help before I realized I'd given her an excuse to talk.

"See that's the issue," Lydia said. "Remember when I said I was British intelligence. I really was the _intelligence _part of that. Spent most of my days working behind a computer. Field work was always more Carl's thing. _He _actually used this one gun from America. Big, old, always kept a few spare Celestial bronze bullets lying around just in case."

"Okay, what weapon did you used to use?" I asked before she could give me someone's life story.

"Well, I don't know if you could say I used it, since in the two years I had it I fired it twice, and one of those times was at Henry. Oh thank gods I was such a bad shot, right? But, anyway—"

"Cynthia," I said abruptly, "I think since Lydia is more of a supporter, she doesn't necessarily need a full blown sword. Think a knife or dagger might work?"

"Oh that sounds like a good idea!" Lydia readily agreed. "What do you think Cynthia?"

"Easy to carry, light, and quick. It's why I carry one. It could work," Cynthia said.

It took a good hour to finally find the right one, but together Cynthia and I managed to get Lydia outfitted with a weapon she felt comfortable with. I taught her a few basic techniques, and after making sure she wouldn't cut herself every time she tried to draw it, we turned our attentions to my own weapon problems.

I'd never seen the lure in shopping, but in hindsight it was probably because the Aphrodite girls had always talked about shopping for shoes or the like. Had they substituted in weapons, it might have been a different story.

Just me, a couple of friends (Well, people I got along with and knew the names of. "Friends" is a bit of a stretch.), and a place where the whole goal of our efforts was to get what we wanted. Add on that it was free, and I could behind this.

It took a while, but I was able finally select a sword that didn't feel completely awkward in my hands. Sadly we hadn't found any Stygian Iron. My new weapon was just under three feet of Celestial bronze with a triangular, double-edged blade that looked well designed for both stabbing and slashing.

Surprisingly enough, once Lydia got over her own belief that the ground I walked on was sacred (and after I _repeatedly _told her that yes, I did like the armor) Lydia stopped talking at a million miles an hour, and the evening very slowly went from mildly tolerable to well, enjoyable.

After we'd all finished weapon shopping, Lydia got this idea to pay a visit to Henry, to which Cynthia was strongly opposed to…until I turned it into an idea to mess with his head. The details are a little complicated, but suffice to say it ended with Henry being judo-thrown into a pile of dirty laundry by Roxanne.

As the night winded down, we all ended up at the campfire in Demigod's Circle, which was essentially a ring of tents where most of the demigod commanders slept. Roxanne was still out and about, most likely involved in some contest or other with the soldiers. Tony and Rick were probably up to similar antics. Henry was out cold in his cot, James was up to his neck in trouble at the infirmary with a fresh group of refugees. Han had actually joined us at the campfire, holding reed pipes in his hands as if he wasn't sure what to do with them.

Though it was completely against my motto of the evening, I found remembering that Jacob rarely ever slept in Demigod Circle, choosing instead to spend every waking moment in the command tent or on the battlefield, often only sleeping when he passed out face first into the deployment map. My mouth twitched, not sure whether to frown or smile as I recalled all the times I'd found him like that and had had to drag him into the cot he kept in that tent.

And of course remembering that reminded me of his every other quirk, from his borderline obsessive need to triple check everyone else's plans to his tendency to lose any writing utensil that didn't automatically return to his pocket.

And of course that just broke the mental damn and before you know it I'm on a gas wasting cruise down memory lane, cherishing the high points and feeling the dull ache of the low ones, right up through the present.

Gods damn it. Definitely a frown.

"Um, Captain di Angelo?" Lydia asked, "everything alright?"

It was practically reflex that answered for me, to the point where I barely even glanced her direction. "Hm? Fine."

Lydia raised an eyebrow, and that was when I realized that I could shut this girl out if I wanted, but fooling her was not going to be an option. And after getting to know Lydia, I shuddered to think what would happen if she got on a questioning kick. Backed into a corner, caught red –handed, and out of options, I caved.

"Okay, maybe not," I admitted. "Just…miss someone, I guess."

Cynthia and Han were both paying attention now, but they both at least had the courtesy to do so relatively discreetly.

Lydia was oblivious to the audience. "Oh. Someone you…lost?"

Clearly Lydia was trying to find a kinder word for dead, which was thoughtful, though when half your Hybrid genes come from the Hades family tree, you can really avoid death.

"No," was my initial response, but then the metaphorical definitions of the term "lost" kicked in and I questioned whether or not I really had lost Jacob. An unfortunately fresh image of him lying in the dirt, smoking from a lightning bolt filled my brain. "I mean, they're still alive it's…I don't think I can see them anytime soon."

"Oh," Lydia said knowingly, which suddenly had me interested. There was no way she'd pegged the whole situation out this fast…was there? "This is about that one soldier, from the night we met, isn't it?"

Didn't think so. "What? Lydia, no, not him. For starters, we're not even—"

I stopped the stereotypical "we're just friends" speech the second I locked eyes with Lydia though.

"Were you really about to tell a daughter of Aphrodite that _after _she saw you kiss him?" Lydia taunted.

A horrible wheezing sneeze went off as Han made a startled noise into reed pipes he didn't know how to play to begin with. "Wait. Go back. What?"

"Oops," Lydia said. "Sorry, didn't know he was a secret."

"He honestly wasn't," Cynthia admitted. All heads around the campfire turned toward her. She just gave a modest shrug. "What? Knowing what goes on around here is my job."

"Whatever," I dismissed. "Lydia. Bennett and I are…it's complicated okay? We saved each other's lives a lot, he donated some of his blood for me, and we've kissed once or twice. Okay? We both know it can't— won't go anywhere."

"I'm going to need some convincing," Lydia insisted. "Because I happen to be very good with these things and you might not know it, but if you hadn't run into us first, you'd probably be with him right now.

Not blaming you either. He's tall, and strong and confident and _devilishly _handsome. So, why not?" Lydia asked.

"It's called fraternization," Han interrupted. "Most armies have rules against it for its tendency to ruin judgment and get people killed."

I could tell Han also wanted to add on a question about _what exactly did you guys say about Alex and kissing? _, but Lydia spoke faster.

"Don't you people have any sense of romance?" Lydia groaned. "Captain, I'm not even playing celebrity couple mash-up. I can sense, _see _a legitimate, deep connection with you two. And isn't war a time to live? A time to live for the fullest because we might not get another chance? You should be making the most of your time, not letting rules get in the way just because something bad _might _happen."

I wanted to brush that advice off much the same way I had two years ago when someone else had given it to me, back when this had all just started. But Lydia was a daughter of Aphrodite, and as much as I was a granddaughter of two of the most powerful gods in Olympus, as much as I was Captain of the 2nd Allied Defense Group, I was also a seventeen year-old girl whose social life had taken a war to the gut.

"You deserve to be happy, Alex," Lydia added, calling me by my first name for the first time I could ever remember her doing so.

I didn't want to believe I was getting suckered in like this, and yet I was. "You really think…me and Bennett?"

"Why are you still doubting me on this?" Lydia asked. "Seriously, why? Because I'm kind of amazing with this sort of thing. In fact, let's go right now and find him. C'mon."

The thought of talking to Nick again did bring a twitch of a smile, as well as a whole mess of what ifs and memories and uncertainties and bizarre, cluster-blitzed cocktail feelings that almost made me want to grab a bucket and hurl.

"Well?" Lydia asked, but then her expectant look turned into a contemplative frown. "Wait…I got it all wrong, didn't I? He's not what you're upset about at all. Well, not just him."

"You still following this?" Han asked Cynthia under his breath.

"Try to keep up," was her dismissive response, and the frown on her face was _audible._

Lydia titled her head, looking like she was studying me, searching for some sort of detail that held all the answers. "Who's the other one? Have I met him? Are you and Henry—"

"Gods no!" I interrupted. "No. I just…no."

"Well, then who?" Lydia asked.

"Jacob L. Jackson," Cynthia spoke up. Lydia's eyes turned to saucers and her jaw went slack. Cynthia met my surprised gaze and added. "What? She would have found out sooner or later."

"You…" Lydia stammered. "But he…he's a monster! Or did you miss the part where not six hours ago he told all of us about his brilliant scheme to throw thousands of innocent, untrained people onto a sacrificial alter? You stormed out for goddess' sake!"

"He wasn't always like this," I felt compelled to defend, though in the back of my mind I couldn't find any real reason behind my doing so.

"Alex I really don't want to have to explain the different between explaining falling for and image and falling for a person. Because I don't care what he used to be, or how you remember him, but that psycho path does not deserve the time of day from you!" Lydia ranted.

"Hey!" Han interrupted. "That 'psychopath' is why we're all still here right now, okay? So why don't you show some respect?"

"Hm, not sure," Lydia spat sarcastically. "Is his lack of basic compassion a good enough reason?"

"We're at war," Han defended. "Tough calls—"

"Should _not_ be made if they cost this much," Lydia interrupted. "Where is our glorious leader going to draw the line on the cost of survival? Because personally, I would rather die now than force someone else to pay the price for me to live."

"Sure you can say that now, but you try making that call when you're him," Han retorts right back, fervently defending his friend.

"Han," I interrupt quietly. He looks at me, stunned for a second, like he'd forgotten I was there. "You can deny he hasn't changed."

"Well…yeah but…" Han stammered, trying to find something to say. "Alex, can we really just turn our backs on him?"

"What if he's turned his on us," I whisper. "Han, I want to believe in Jacob as much as you, but I want to believe in _my _Jacob. Not whoever was in that command tent today."

"No," Cynthia whispered, so quietly she probably though no one heard her.

"Something to add?" I asked her. She seemed terrified right now.

"I…" she began, the stopped, sighing instead. "It's none of my business. I just schedule meetings and organize food storage."

"Go ahead, say it," I insist. "C'mon, you can't back out now."

"I really should just keep my mouth shut," Cynthia said, trying to deflect the attention and even starting to stand up to leave.

I put a hand on her shoulder, gentle but firm to let her know she wasn't going anywhere. No way out, Cynthia gave in.

"You will not tell Jacob I ever said this," Cynthia ordered. Then she looks at Han and Lydia, _especially _Lydia as she adds. "None of you. None of this leaves the campfire."

"I promise," and I meant it. Not like I would be running to Jacob with all my secrets anytime soon.

"Okay, I'm not telling you how to live your life or what to think here," Cynthia told me. "Really, I'm not. But Alex, please, _please _don't just give up on him like this. You have no idea what it would do to him."

"Hang him out to dry like he deserves," Lydia muttered, but Cynthia ignored her.

"Alex, he'll never say it, and he might not even know it," Cynthia continued. "But Jacob is the loneliest person I have ever met in my entire life. Night and day from the instant he wakes up until he finally collapses from exhaustion, all he can afford to think about is war, and survival, and death. And he deals with that, completely on his own, because he feels like he has to. He walks around every day, his mind set on believing that the entire world is on his shoulders _alone_."

An image of Jacob standing alone against this entire world while millions were depending on him filled my head. I started to get the picture.

Cynthia's eyes start to glimmer and she struggles to maintain eye contact, and that's when I realize she's actually trying not to cry.

"And it's crushing him," she said. "That burden is practically killing him, and he feels like he's carrying it alone."

"Why would he ever think he's alone," I asked. "He's got an army, he has his parents, he has us, he has—"

I stopped myself, because I had almost just said "_me"_.

"He has plenty of people with him," I said instead.

Cynthia shook her head. "He hasn't seen his parents in person for a year and a half. All he can feel from the army is guilt at all the lives they lose. His friends, he has so little time for them anymore they couldn't comfort him even if they tried. No offense to any of you, but most don't."

Han opened his mouth to protest, but suddenly a look of thought crossed his face, like he was trying to remember the last time he'd really just checked in on Jacob, like I was. Over the course of the war, I'd said "hi" innumerable times, fought back to back with him in countless life-or-death scenarios, spent nights going over strategies with him, spent more than a few nights in an infirmary telling him to get some rest because I would be fine, and even found a couple of instances where we could actually just talk, but never could I remember in the last year and a half at least, _ever _asking Jacob if he was okay.

Not once.

A stab of guilt I never would have expected hit me hard, dead center in the chest. It's not that I didn't care about Jacob, I just…I mean, he'd always seemed like he was holding it together. But that was exactly what commanders were supposed to do. If Jacob broke down, morale would go with him. If he put on a brave face, forced himself to stay strong at least in the public eye, hope held together.

But what was he really feeling? Had I really been so blind or busy not to realize that all loss, the mistakes, the doubt, the sacrifice, the hopelessness, the death and the destruction wouldn't get to him, more so than any one of us. Jacob had always felt responsible for trouble in the world, like he had some duty to stop it.

Gods Jacob, how much pain have you been hiding behind that tired smile of yours?

"He is the bravest, most selfless person I have ever known," Cynthia kept going, tears definitely running down her cheeks now. "I've thought that ever since he first saved my life and recruited me. We all put him on this pedestal, like he's some invincible man who can carry all the burdens of the world and be our scapegoat and that this is all easy for him…but he's fifteen! He's so hard to carry all that weight on his own, and it's _killing _him."

"And this offensive," she said, looking back at me once again. "This is the biggest stab yet. The things I said to him when he told me…gods why? All the doubt and guilt people have shoved at him for it…We can't turn our backs now, not when he needs us the most. Jacob deserves a lot of things. To be abandoned by friends, to die feeling like he was alone in the world…is _not _one of them."

Everyone was quiet. Cynthia wiped her tears away as she tried to regain her composure, and I found myself staring at her. This girl was so loyal, so dedicated to Jacob that watching him suffer had brought her to tears, who knows how many times. Jacob had inspired that kind of loyalty.

And everything that she'd said…I didn't even know if I could allow myself to believe it. Because if I did, I wasn't sure I could forgive myself. Gods, it had been so much easier to believe that Jacob had soulless sentenced countless people to die, so much easier to ignore his side.

But still, all those people… could I really just forgive that. It was all way, _way _too much to deal with in one night. As both guilt and lingering anger mixed and tangled in a violent dance of emotional rollercoastering, I felt like vomiting.

Instead, I stood up and left the campfire, say only that I needed time to think.

_**003: God, I got punched in the feels writing this. Ahem. What will Alex do with this new point of view on Jacob? Will Jacob be able to save his parents in TIME? Does Kronos have any other tricks up his sleeve? Tune in next TIME to find out!**_


	17. Got a Million Problems, Jake Ain't One

"_Expect the expected, prepare for what you can see coming, understand the simple and I promise you…you will die."_

_-Mentor to Derik Chambers_

Plan.

That word had been going through my brain about a million times, like a drumbeat. Aside from imagining every possible worst-case scenario of my parents being attacked, all I could think was that I needed a plan.

Though my father had gifted me with a bit of an impulsive streak, I wasn't a total fire from the hip kind of hero. Evan had been a pain to deal with _before _Urunos had gotten to him. With Urunos pulling the strings and giving him a boost, I was in deep trouble.

Kronos had shown me that my parents together wouldn't be enough to take down Evan and whatever Embers he brought with him, and prophecy kid or not, I knew I couldn't expect to just charge in there, sword swinging, and hope I could save them. All _that _plan was going to accomplish would be getting me killed, or worse.

Prep for the offensive was already in full swing, and calling in reinforcements from friends or the army would throw a wrench into an already shaky machine and risk delaying the mission, something we couldn't afford on our time budget. I was on my own.

Plan.

Evan was strong. He knew how to handle a blade, he had his mechanical hand filled with tricks, and now Urunos had control of him to boot. How much control he was exercising, I wasn't sure. But Evan would be even more powerful because of it. I had Poseidon's blessing sure, but it wasn't exactly an on-demand thing, definitely not something I could form a reliable plan around.

Combat ability advantage, Evan.

Maybe, _maybe, _on a good day with proper motivation, a clear head, an adrenaline rush and a shot of nectar I could take him one-on-one. Maybe. Adding extra Embers into the equation tipped things heavily in his favor.

Numbers advantage, Evan.

_Well kid, you've got me_. Miz offered.

And really, I felt so much better after hearing that.

Plan.

I knew Montauk Beach. I knew where I'd be able to find my parents, even after the Iris message hadn't gone through. Especially after the message hadn't gone through. I'd been to that old beach house enough times as a kid that I'd be able to find it no problem, and I knew my way around the area.

Terrain advantage, me.

Evan though was probably going to be way ahead of me, maybe even already there. He, or more likely Urunos, undoubtedly had his own plan, and he had had much more time to set it up, think it through, and carry it out.

Preparedness advantage, Evan.

He had my parents, and now my still developing sibling, in danger, _forcing _me to react. He was dictating the terms of the engagement, by threatening a target I have to keep safe. Because of that, he controls the situation, the why, where, and when of this fight.

Tactical control advantage, Evan.

His advantages were stacking, mine were looking less and less significant. But as much as a strategist has to be aware of his opponent's capability's, he still has to acknowledge his own. Evan maybe be a good fighter, but he was always pretty narrow minded. He'd actually thought releasing Urunos would be a good idea, and his inability to perceive me as a threat had been exactly what had allowed me to cut his hand off back when I was ten. Urunos, ancient and omnipresent though he liked to appear, wasn't much sharper of a mind, his grand war strategy consisting of simply overrunning us in a tide of bodies. No matter which of them was calling the shots, I told myself, I was smarter than either of them.

I had to put control of the terms of battle in my hands, act instead of react. I needed to take whatever carefully thought out plan Evan/Urunos might have had and toss whatever wrench into it I could, throw his whole expectation for a loop. His numbers could be redirected, avoided. And his strength could be used against him.

Plan.

My mind became my whole world, my body went into auto pilot. I had to forget self-pity, forget doubt, forget any lingering heartache or fear, because the only thing they could do now was get me or parents killed. I'm not going to lie, it felt good to push the war, the offensive, the Olympians, and even Alex out of my brain to make room for strategy.

It was like a weight being pulled off of my chest, and I could finally breathe again. I could finally think.

Plan.

I considered every variable, every outcome. No detail was neglected, and everything was taken into consideration. I pulled out every trick in the book, harnessing every drop of strategic genius that I had in my genes.

Theoretically anyway, what with gods not seeming to have DNA.

Plan.

Once I had a general sense of the plan, the work was half over. Next came contingencies. What if my parents couldn't move on their own? I planned for that. What if more Embers showed up? A plan for that. If it wasn't possible for all three of us to make it out alive? A plan for that.

But what if the plan completely and utterly didn't work, or the situation changed so much it would no longer work. Back up plans, with back-ups for them and contingencies laced all in between.

Plan.

When I was _finally _satisfied that I'd had time to plan my attack out, I felt the fog lift from my eyes, and the world came back into focus.

And so, when the "borrowed" motorcycle conked out of gas at the ocean's edge, not only did I know exactly what to do, and exactly how to do it, I also felt prepared for any development that could come up.

I was ready.

_Hang on Mom and Dad,_ I thought. _I'm coming_.

_**003: I know. I know, you all thought I was dead.002 used up our data watching the entirety of Young Justice in two days, and just when I thought I might have had a chance to write, 1136 set the place we were staying in on fire…with milk.**_

_**1136: Not my fault!**_

_**003: Anyway. I know this chapter was short, but it was spawned from my issue of trying to figure out how to get Jacob from Olympus to Montauk. In the end, I decided to just ignore the trip altogether, and instead give insight into how Jacob's super-brain works in order to create a time skip.**_

_**Next chapter will feature Jacob's plan being tossed out the window after it hits the fan. How that happens though, will surprise, and anger, many of you, as well as a certain character.**_


	18. The Family that Slays Together

_**003: Hello one and all. I'm back, updating this story because for the sake of flying fireworks it needs to be done already! I will finish this story, so I swear!**_

_**1136: Not. So. Loud…**_

_**003: Oh quit your whining. I've still got a headache from 002's yelling, and you don't hear me complaining.**_

_**1136: She hit me…with a frying pan. WE DON'T EVEN OWN A FRYING PAN!**_

Percy's POV

Nothing about this was good.

Somehow, someway, Annabeth and I had been found. Not by the gods, not by the Allies, but by Urunos's own personal lackey, Evan Nakamura, who'd brought a pack of Embers as back up. And by pack, I mean small army which had been reduced to a pack by some of the finest demigod fighting skills ever displayed.

Modest, I know.

But in the end, with Evan backing them up, the little creeps had finally overrun us. By then, I'd been exhausted, almost waiting for the end. I'd expected a final killing lunge, or else to be grabbed and possessed.

I hadn't expected to be taken alive.

Annabeth and I were both being held, restrained by two Embers each. Their hands had a red hot vice grip that stung even my skin after a while. I had to keep my jaw clenched, or else grit my teeth just to hold back the need to cringe at the slowly burning sensation in my arms, and a look at Annabeth told me she was going through a pretty similar experience.

We were both inside the beach house, along with Evan, who stood like a towering figure with his eyes glowing bright red, and a matching aura flickering and snapping like fire around him. He paced across the room, looking impatient.

"I don't get it Evan," Annabeth suddenly spoke up. "Why go through all this trouble to capture us when you could have just killed us?"

I shot Annabeth a look that said _Don't give him any ideas! _She responded with a quick glare that read _I know what I'm doing._

Mentally, I sighed. Twenty-one years of knowing her, and sometimes it felt like things hadn't changed a bit. Not that I'm complaining.

Evan turned to face Annabeth, his eyes narrowing as if trying to work out whether or not this was some kind of trick.

"Your son," Evan said, his voice mixing with Urunos's to form a particularly disturbing double voice, "as well as the di Angelo girl, have become a particularly annoying obstacle, one that can no longer be tolerated. Killing them directly has proved more complex a process than I initially expected. So instead of destroying their body, I will destroy their spirit, by corrupting their parents' souls, and forcing them to watch."

The di Angelo girl? _Alex._ A chill ran down my spine. Urunos was targeting Jacob and Alex. But that still didn't explain the need to go for us.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're not Alex's parents," Annabeth said. "And they're not here."

"Not yet," Evan/Urunos replied.

My heart jumped for a second when he said _yet_. I really did not like where this was going.

"But the son of Hades and daughter of Zeus will arrive soon enough, now that they have been told of your dire situation," Evan said, chuckling darkly.

He strode across the room to look out the window, seeming pleased with himself. "Yes. They know you're here. That we are here. They must come alone to save you, or I will kill you both before they can arrive."

"Personally," Urunos, and it was definitely Urunos, said, "I would like to have simply killed you now, and make the offer to the pair regardless. But the son of Hades would know of your deaths the instant they occurred. They would never be fooled. And so you live for now, until all of you can be captured at once. And once I have all four of you…you will all die, and I'll send the replay to your children. Their spirits will break, and when my army reaches them, their deaths will feel like mercies."

"That's assuming you can take Thalia and Nico together," Annabeth said, "which isn't going to happen. Tough luck."

It sounded tough, but we both knew Thalia and Nico would only just be able to go toe-to-toe with Evan. They'd need more than just them. Urunos seemed to know too.

"Your bravery is admirable," Urunos laughed. "Foolish. But admirable. And also pointless. Even if by some miracle you escape me here, I grow stronger every day. Very soon I will reach my full, glorious might, and I will crush Mount Olympus like a stone beneath my foot, before ending Creation itself, to begin anew."

Suddenly, Evan's body went rigid, as if he'd been unexpectedly winded. He looked around, as if searching for something, and a moment later every Ember in the room that wasn't occupied holding us down left, all of them yelling and baying for blood.

"Someone is here," I heard him mutter. It was hard to keep your voice quiet when you had two of them, and one was a booming baritone.

In a much louder voice, he proudly announced in a voice laden with sarcasm, "Your 'saviors' have arrived."

He was trying to sound victorious, but I thought I saw a hint of worry in his glowing eyes. Something was off, which might just be good news for us.

Evan resumed pacing, now constantly grumbling to himself and looking out the window. Whatever was happening out in the rest of the world, he didn't seem to like it very much. Eventually, he let out a barely restrained roar and stormed out of the room, declaring that if you wanted something done correctly you had to do it yourself.

Now Annabeth and I were alone with four Embers. We were tired, but I started trying to piece together a plan. Maybe, if we could take these Embers quickly, we could make a break for it before Evan got back. Assuming he was a good enough distance away. And then maybe, just maybe…

Aw, who am I kidding. Plans aren't my thing.

There was a low groan through the house, metal straining. It lasted a few seconds, long enough for me to figure out it was the water pipes that ran through the place. The funny thing was, I was almost certain I'd already busted all of them during the fight that had gotten us captured.

Still, the pipes of the house rumbled and rattled.

Then the roof sprung a leak.

It was a small one at first, letting out a single drip every few seconds. Slowly though, it picked up speed, pooling just beside Annabeth. It wasn't enough to be of any use for escaping, but it caught my attention nonetheless.

The leak kept pouring its steady little trickle of water, the Embers in the room seemingly oblivious. The puddle's uniform circular shape broke apart as a thin little stream began rolling across the floor, out the door of the room.

Come to think of it, it actually was a lot of water now. But when I tried to take control of it, it wouldn't respond, like it already belonged to someone else.

I was starting to get confused, but when I looked to Annabeth to silently ask if she knew what was going on, all I saw was her staring intently at the water, waiting for something to happen.

Then, all at once, the water that had collected in a puddle in the room pulled itself together, took shape, took color, and the next thing I saw was Jacob twisting through the air, water still being pulled towards him.

The Embers gave a surprised scream that didn't even last a second. Jacob cut all four of them down by the time his feet had found the floor. Annabeth and I didn't waste an instant to envelope him in a hug.

"Jacob, what are you doing here?" I asked.

We all pulled apart.

"Saving you," was his smart response. He sounded tired.

"How did you know?" Annabeth asked.

"I'll explain later," Jacob said hurriedly. "C'mon, Evan's probably already on his way back. We need to get out of here, fast."

We were out of the beach house as quickly as possible, and after a short while we were on the beach itself, running for our lives with a sunset as a backdrop. We did our best, but neither Annabeth or me were in any shape to keep up with Jacob, and it very quickly began to show.

"Guys!" Jacob pleaded, looking desperate. "Mom, Dad, we need to hurry! C'mon, before—"

"Before what?" a malevolent voice asked.

All three of us turned toward the source. We all knew what it was before we laid eyes on it though. Evan. He stood, red aura glow bright and dancing across his skin like fire. His eyes burned bright red, and he didn't look angry so much as pleased.

"You are an unexpected surprise, Jackson," Urunos said. "But a welcome one."

"Evan," Jacob said with an angry edge in his voice.

"You will address a god by his proper name," Urunos ordered.

"I don't care which one you are," Jacob said defiantly, raising his sword. "You're both annoying. And you're both going down."

"Brave words," Urunos complimented, giving Jacob a slow, sarcastic round of applause. "But empty all the same. You are all going to die here."

"Jacob," I said, putting a hand on my son's shoulder. "Go. We'll buy you some time."

"We both know I'm not going anywhere," Jacob said, offering a brave smile. Annabeth did our best to return it. If we went down, we were going to go down as a family.

_**003:Yeah. I would have made this a little longer, but I figured you'd all waited long enough. On that note, I have a wife who's six months pregnant and trained in several methods of killing people. Lovely combo, let me tell you.**_

_**002: 003!**_

_**003: *shudders* **_


	19. Battle Royale

_**I'm not too terribly satisfied with how last chapter turned out. Which is why, I give to you, this one. One word: Action.**_

Jacob's POV

_And it was working so well too. _Miz lamented.

For once, he was right. It hadn't been that hard to realize a head in charge would have gotten me killed. Which is exactly why I'd had to take the long road to get to my parents. As soon as I'd found them, I let myself get spotted, just for a second, and led off as many Embers as I could.

The whole point of that hadn't been to pick them off one at a time though. In fact, I'd only actually killed one of them. The rest, I kept on a wild goose chase. I kept them, and by extent Urunos, frustrated and searching. It had taken a lot of running, turning into water and back again, plus a few very clever hiding spots, but eventually I got on Urunos's nerves enough to get him to send out the big guns.

As soon as I'd realized Evan was after me, I started to draw them all out. At a good enough distance, I threw them off my trail and onto a pointless one, then worked my way inside, through the pipes.

After that, it was just hack to dust anything in the way, and make a break for it with Mom and Dad in tow. It had been going great, we were in the home stretch, and I'd barely had to swing a sword.

But now, all that careful planning and maneuvering had just gone pear shaped. I tried to be optimistic, but in all honesty, both of my parents were battered and exhausted. This was going to be a rough fight, and that was if I managed to wrap it up before more Embers showed up.

And they were most definitely on their way right now.

Evan's body loomed in front of us, but it was definitely Urunos in control now. Only vaguely could I recall how all of this mess had started, with a band of angry demigods trying to get at Olympus. They'd been losing, and so they pulled the only trump card they thought they had. And now look where it had gotten them.

"I feel as though I should commend your bravery," Urunos said.

He raised a hand, closing it into a fist. Behind me, my parents were thrown into each other, their heads cracking together in a loud and painful way. Instantly, their eyes shut and they went limp. Urunos extended his fingers, I was flung backwards into them, and all three of us tumbled across the sand like ragdolls.

I groaned, pulling myself up off of them. Thank Olympus they were both still breathing.

I didn't have long to be relieved though, because no sooner had I staggered to my feet than I was hurled to side, yanked by an invisible rope. I hit the sand hard, was flipped into the air like a pancake, and slammed back down face first, getting the wind knocked out of me.

"But in truth, I find it annoying," Urunos finished. I was already covered in bruises, and he hadn't moved from where he was standing.

I pushed myself back onto my feet. I'd already lost track of Miz, but sooner or later he'd be back in my pocket. All I had to do was stay alive until then.

Flames burst to life on Evan's hands, and he set his sights on me. I stood ready, knowing I'd be able to take a hit if I had to. But I also knew I didn't have to.

The beach was about as close to the ocean as I could get without actually diving in. There wasn't a better home turf advantage to be had.

Evan let loose with a fireball. The ocean responded, surging out with a wave that came well past the tide line and intercepted the flames, leaving only thick, salty steam in its wake. Urunos growled and repeated the process, throwing more and more fire.

Each time, I willed the ocean waves behind me to come forward and stop the fire in its tracks. The beach was becoming blanketed in steam, and the place was beginning to feel like a salty sauna, but so far, I hadn't taken a fireball to the face.

The instant I felt a familiar weight return to my pocket, I yanked Miz out and clicked him back to life.

_Miss me?_

I didn't even answer. I just moved through the steam towards Evan, who right now was acting like a big, glowing red lighthouse. When I was close enough I swung twice, both times going for a killing stroke. There was the sickening sound of metal cutting flesh, and when I pulled Miz back there was blood across the blade. But Even didn't go down.

A wave of force radiated out, blowing away the steam, knocking Miz out of my hands again, and sending me rolling across the sand, getting a mouthful of it in the process.

I spat it out, though my mouth still felt disgustingly gritty. This fight was going about as well as I'd imagined it would.

Evan wasted no time in summoning a sword of primordial lead. It was huge, heavy, and two handed, with a wicked looking blade of jagged edges and sharp curves. Urunos let out a roar, and Evan came charging forward.

I rolled to the side, watching the blade cleave through the space I'd just occupied. Evan stabbed downward, and I scooted backward as fast as I could, moving just in time to let the blade up in between my legs instead of in my gut.

Evan growled in frustration, and I decided sticking close to him was a bad idea without a weapon. I rolled backwards, trying to get some space, but I never even finished my roll. As had happened to me so many times before, I felt an invisible hand lift me up off the ground and hurl me backward across the beach.

I landed in wet sand with a moist _thud _, the wind knocked out of me. I felt a weight return to my pocket, and knew Miz was back again. But right then, I didn't even see a point in drawing him. After two long, desperate years of resisting, of fighting back, this last beat down finally broke down a wall that had been waiting for an excuse to crumble.

I didn't try to pick myself up off the ground. I just laid there, in the mud, groaning. Every death I'd ever seen and every friend I'd ever lost, every scream I'd ever heard and every hit I'd ever taken all dog piled on top of me. Like a damn breaking, anything and everything that had been nagging for my attention now assaulted me full force.

I remembered the reactions from everyone who'd heard the plan for the offensive. I thought to my parents, both lying unconscious and helpless. With vivid detail I was able to recall the exact sensation of Alex taking her frustrations out on me in the form of a bolt of lightning. And with every painful recollection, I found less of a reason to get back up.

I heard Urunos's deep, taunting laugh. I wanted to feel angry. All I could feel was defeated.

And then, the tide came back in.

A fresh wave of seawater rolled over me, and what to most was a wet slap to me was a shot of ambrosia. I felt a fresh wave of strength course through me, pushing back the dulling ache of the mountain of burdens trying to suffocate me. They weren't gone, not by a long shot, but now I was determined to hold them at bay, because there was no way I was going down without a fight.

I stood up in the surf as the waves came in and out around my calves. In one fluid motion Miz was drawn and clicked to life, sending droplets of water flying as he was.

_Throwing Poseidon kin into the ocean. _Miz scoffed, noting the tactical error on Urunos's part. _And you were worried about this fight._

"Go again?" I asked, my voice filled with renewed vigor.

Urunos let out a low growl and hurled a fireball at me. In response, a six foot swell surged past me, dousing it in midair.

I felt a familiar burning sensation running down my arm and across my chest, and I felt the power of the ocean behind me. The brilliant blue glow of Poseidon's blessing came back, shining on par with Urunos's own red hue.

"My turn," I told him. With a single flourish, I stabbed Miz into the sand.

Behind me, the waves roared to life, cascading forward in a single, angry wall of water. And I aimed it right at Evan.

It swept over me like a light breeze, but it hit him full force. In an instant both of us were underwater, Evan flailing around wildly. As if the mini tsunami wasn't bad enough, the biggest great white I had ever seen shot past me, jaws open wide.

It sank its teeth into Evan, thrashed its head from side to side, and then released him , sending him cartwheeling through the water even as it began to recede. When the water finally pulled back out into its proper place, Evan laid bleeding on the shore, screaming in pain and rage, coughing up seawater.

I pulled Miz out of the ground, feeling winded. Already, I could feel the glow of my tattoos flickering, taking their surge of power with them each time they went out.

I thought it was over, but still Evan staggered to his feet. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"YOU WILL NOT WIN!" Urunos bellowed. The angry red aura around Evan grew even more intense, and suddenly the blood coming from his wounds was silver, not red. Tainted ichor, immortal and mortal blood mixing together.

Just as quickly as Evan's blood went silver, his wounds began to close up. Oh Styx.

Fire blazed into existence across Evan's arms and shot straight at me. I used what little strength I had to throw up a dome of water around me just in time. The fire hit the water, causing a layer of steam to rise up, but the quick defense held.

Protected at least for a little bit by my little bubble, I took one good look at Evan, trying to ignore all of Urunos's curse that had so fully consumed him. I tried to see the man behind all of it. Evan had been angry. Damaged. Murderous, even. But Urunos was out to destroy everything. Everything that had ever, will ever, exist. Though both were really bad, Urunos was a far cry from simply wanting revenge on the gods.

"Is this really what you want Evan?" I yelled, my voice penetrating the bubble. "This end of the world we're talking about! You let Urunos get inside your minds, and now look what's happened! You can stop all of this. Fight him Evan. Fight him!"

"EVAN NAKAMURA IS GONE!" Urunos roared. He charged forward, hands ablaze, and tore open my water dome.

Miz was my last line of defense. I swung, slicing into Evan's cheek and causing him to stagger, giving me the much needed chance to dive out of his reach and roll away, springing back up into a fighting stance at the end of it.

The glow in my tattoos finally gave out completely, taking most of my energy with it. I suddenly had the strong need to eat a dozen footlongs and then nap for a week. I was utterly drained. And Urunos just looked angry.

I heard tortured shrieks coming from behind me, and I checked over my shoulder. Sure enough, a pack of Embers were coming in on foot, baying for blood. My blood.

Within seconds I was surrounded, encircled by a ring of snarling, shrieking, burning corpses. And in front of me, brandishing a monster of a sword, was Urunos controlling Evan like a puppet.

"Death has arrived," Urunos proclaimed.

"And he's sorry he's late!" a new voice jibed.

Despite the presence of several burning individuals, the air suddenly grew much colder. Dead, decayed hands shot out of the ground, grabbing several Embers and using them as handholds. I recognized minions of Hades anywhere, and I'd never been happier to see them.

Above, storm clouds brewed, and from them shot bolts of lightning, all of which struck with perfect precision, turning every Ember into ash.

I turned around, though I already knew who'd shown up. Nico and Thalia di Angelo had never been a more welcome sight. Thalia wielded her spear and shield, Nico a sword of Stygian iron. Both of them looked ready to kick some serious butt.

"Sorry about your friends," Thalia apologized sarcastically.

"I have more," Urunos threatened.

Taking their cue, more Embers flew onto the scene, and were promptly cut down by Nico's small band of undead warriors.

"So do I," Nico retorted.

I turned back to Urunos, smiling in victory. "Well…your move."

_Screw that, _Miz proclaimed, _let's kick his ass!_

For once, I didn't tell Miz to shut it.

"_**YAY! The cavalry has arrived! Everything will be just fine now! Everyone's making it back okay! Nothing could possibly go wrong!"**_

_**-Said whoever doesn't know my plot style. See you next time.**_

_**002: 003!**_

_**003: *shudders* You know…if there is a next time. I'm coming, Hun!**_


End file.
